Driver and passenger who mowed down pair of e-bike riders with pick-up truck after mistaking them for burglars are jailed for life for murder

Published: 18:12, 22 September 2025 | Updated: 19:41, 22 September 2025

A driver and passenger who mowed down a pair of e-bike [2] riders with a pick-up truck after mistaking them for burglars have been jailed for life for murder.

Alex Rose, 30, with passenger Charles Pardoe, 25, rammed the black vehicle into the two cyclists in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, in the early hours of July 22 last year.

The pair pursued William Birchard, 21, and Darren George, 22, after Rose thought they had tried to burgle his home in the sleepy commuter town earlier that evening.

In fact, they had not been 'anywhere near' his house at this time, the court heard - and had instead been on their way to the pub in nearby town Ashford.

But the landscape gardener got into a 60mph chase, driving the wrong way down a motorway slip road, and was calling his girlfriend Tara Knaggs, 25, throughout.

The bikers tragically lost their lives in the hit-and-run - and Rose and Pardoe were found guilty of two counts of murder by a majority verdict at Guildford Crown Court.

Both were locked up for life, with a minimum term of 34 years for Rose and 29 years for Pardoe.

Knaggs was jailed for three years, after being found guilty of assisting an offender by the same jury.

Alex Rose, 30, with passenger Charles Pardoe, 25, rammed the black vehicle into the two cyclists (pictured, William Birchard, one of the riders) in Sunbury-on-Thames, Surrey, in the early hours of July 22 last year

The pair pursued William Birchard, 21, and Darren George (pictured), 22, after Rose thought they had tried to burgle his home in the sleepy commuter town earlier that evening

Rose (pictured) got into a 60mph chase, driving the wrong way down a motorway slip road, and was calling his girlfriend Tara Knaggs, 25, throughout

A fourth defendant, 25-year-old Samuel Aspden - another of Rose's friends who had driven around the area in his car that night - was cleared of both murder charges.

Rose had seen 'movement in the darkness' at his home on the Manor Gardens crescent road at 11.40pm on July 21.

Furious, he called Pardoe and the pair went looking for the culprits.

They had been searching the area for an hour in darkness before spotting the two innocent victims who had gone out for a drink with a friend.

Wrongly assuming they were responsibly, he gave chase in his Ford Raptor truck, going double the 30mph speed limit at some points.

Mr Birchard and Mr George, after around 12.50am, drove the wrong way both round a roundabout and down the M3/A316 slip road to escape their pursuers.

But Rose soon went into the back of the two men, who were both on one e-bike.

He made a three-point turn and drove away, past the men lying on the tarmac. They were found in the road by a lorry driver.

The bikers tragically lost their lives in the hit-and-run - and Rose and Pardoe (pictured) were found guilty of two counts of murder by a majority verdict at Guildford Crown Court

The e-bike riders had not been 'anywhere near' Rose's house at the time he thought they were, the court heard - and had instead been on their way to the pub in nearby town Ashford.

Pictured: The pick-up truck Rose drove and the e-bike he hit

Rose was calling his girlfriend Tara Knaggs (pictured), 25, throughout the pursuit. She has now been jailed for three years, after being found guilty of assisting an offender

Mr Birchard died at the scene from his head injuries, fractures to his face and skull and a severe brain injury, while Mr George died later that day in hospital.

Rose dumped his truck in a street before rushing home on foot.

He later called police to pretend his car had been stolen from his home.

He then attempted to flee the country with Knaggs.

On their journey to Birmingham Airport, she tried to book flights to Thailand on her phone unsuccessfully.

She then secured one-way flights to Istanbul for them - but the couple were arrested by police in the departure lounge before boarding on the afternoon of July 22.

Aspden and Pardoe were arrested two days later.

Knaggs claimed she was on a surprise trip for her birthday which Rose had arranged - but the pair were found with no luggage and GBP4,000 in cash.

Mary Walford, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: 'Two men lost their lives as a result of Alex Rose wrongly believing that they were going to break into his property.

'This was a tragic case of the two victims simply being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

'Despite the defendants claiming that what happened that night was an accident, it was clear from the evidence that it was not.

'Rose used his car as a weapon and drove it deliberately at the e-bike in the mistaken belief that they had tried to steal from him, after systemically searching for them for an hour, before pursuing them at high speed.

'Pardoe did nothing to stop him committing murder and actively encouraged Rose in his search until its tragic conclusion.'

References

^ SOPHIE CARLIN, TRAINEE REPORTER (www.dailymail.co.uk)
^ e-bike (www.dailymail.co.uk)