Driver guilty of man's death in grass cutting row

A driver has been found guilty of manslaughter after he hit and killed another man during a dispute about cutting grass.

Mark Wigley, 60, ran down 45-year-old Liam Green in a VW Touareg on Rose Tree Avenue in Cudworth, near Barnsley, at about 17:00 BST on 3 April.

Following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court, he was cleared of murder while his daughter, Sarah Wigley, 39, and brother-in-law, Neil Shaw, 54, were cleared of all charges.

Judge Graham Reeds KC said Mark Wigley, of Royston Road, Cudworth, had been convicted on "abundant and clear evidence" and would be sentenced on Thursday.

Wigley previously told the court that he did not intend to hit Green and was "in shock" after it happened.

When asked by his barrister, Natasha Wong KC, why the car made contact, he said: "When I was sat to the right-hand side I turned the steering wheel a bit, didn't realise I turned it more, waited for him to pass so I could go straight forward but the car went off to the left."

Footage played in court showed him saying to an officer after the incident that he had swerved after Green came at his car with a bat.

He previously told the court: "It was a threat to injure us and cause us damage."

The dispute started after Green went knocking on doors offering to cut people's grass and came to the house of Mark Wigley's mother.

She became upset that Green had offered her the service for a £7.50 fee and sent images from her Ring doorbell camera to her family, who believed she was being harassed, the court previously heard.

Giving evidence, Sarah Wigley said she had not been angry with Green but "frustrated" and that she had only intended to give him a "telling off".

She also said that recorded footage of her swearing and saying Green was "going to get it" did not mean she wanted to hurt him.

All three had denied intending to seriously harm Green.

Following the jury's day-long deliberation, Judge Reeds said to Mark Wigley: "You have been convicted of manslaughter on what I consider to be abundant and clear evidence.

"You have been found guilty. I will pass sentence on you on Thursday."

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