Hit-and-run cowards in Essex left new dad with ‘catastrophic’ brain injury

The victim has no short-term memory and is barely able to recognise his newborn baby
Joshua Lloyd, left, and Joshua Littlechild
British Transport Police
WEST END FINAL

Get our award-winning daily news email featuring exclusive stories, opinion and expert analysis

I would like to be emailed about offers, event and updates from Evening Standard. Read our privacy notice.

Two cowardly thugs who mowed down a new father in a stolen car leaving him with a “catastrophic” brain injury are facing years in jail for attempted murder.

Joshua Littlechild and Joshua Lloyd stormed out of the dock swearing when the jury returned their unanimous verdicts.

Littlechild, 25, was behind the wheel of a Ford Fiesta which drove at a group of people outside Billericay train station, Essex in the early hours of March 18, 2023.

The victim and his friends were heading to a taxi rank following a night out when he became involved in an altercation with Littlechild and Lloyd, 28.

The Fiesta on false plates hit the man whose “head went through the windscreen” before the pair sped off leaving him for dead, Basildon Crown Court heard.

A jury was told Littlechild, of Delphian Way, Bishops Stortford, and Lloyd, of Oak Green, Billericay, were drinking alcohol before the incident and Littlechild had taken cocaine.

Their victim was left with a critical brain injury and required multiple surgeries to repair the damage.

British Transport Police said he still suffers from severe headaches, struggles to remain balanced and has severe cognitive issues.

He has no short-term memory, is barely able to recognise his newborn baby and requires constant supervision, which has had a huge strain on his family.

BTP officers quickly identified the Fiesta - stolen a week before - and located it a short distance from Lloyd’s home address.

Lloyd was arrested at his home address on March 18, 2023. Text messages on his phone from Littlechild warned police had found the car.

When detectives detained Littlechild three days later in the Newcastle area, he was found with a suitcase and his passport.

Littlechild, 25, of Delphian Way, Bishops Stortford and Joshua Lloyd, 28, of Oak Green, Billericay, were convicted of attempted murder on Monday.

Taxi rank outside Billericay train station
Google Maps

Littlechild had previously admitted grievous bodily harm and aggravated taking without consent. Lloyd pleaded guilty to aggravated taking without consent. They will be sentenced at a later date.

Detective Sergeant Marc Farmer, who investigated the incident, said: “This was a cowardly attack whereby the two suspects used a motor car to attempt to kill to the victim.

“The victim attempted to get out of the way of the car but had no room to escape.

“The defendants have shown no remorse and the victim has suffered life-changing injuries.

“This is a sad case whereby a minor scuffle has dramatically changed the lives of all involved.

“My team of dedicated officers worked tirelessly, under the skilled leadership of DCI Painter, to obtain all possible evidence to ensure a conviction.

“I would also like to thank the uniform officers both BTP and Essex Police, and emergency services colleagues, who attended what was an extremely traumatic scene.

“I hope this result goes some way to providing the victim and his family closure so that they can begin moving on with their lives.”

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in