A group of four men have been convicted of manslaughter following a hit-and-run incident that left a father-of-one and the family dog he was walking dead.

Andrew Flamson was walking on Grosvenor Road in Coventry with family and friends on July 12 last year, when he was deliberately targeted along with three other people.

A silver Ford Mondeo drove the wrong way up the road, past a ‘no entry’ sign and bollards, before hitting the two men and two teenagers.

The other man, aged in his forties, suffered a life-changing traumatic head injury, while the pair of teens received less serious injuries.

Mr Flamson, from Coventry, was taken to hospital with head injuries and died three days later.

The dog had to be put down shortly afterwards.

Paying tribute to the 40-year-old, Mr Flamson’s family said: ‘We will miss our Andrew forever. He was a kind, loving and gentle man.

‘He was loved by his family, his partner and lots of friends. We prayed for justice for our lost boy.’

They added: ‘Andrew is now our spirit in the sky, dancing with the Angels, and he will probably be teaching them his dance moves.’

Shortly before they took the walk, the group had been involved in a row with another group of men about a longstanding debt.

The Mondeo, which drove away from the scene with a shattered windscreen and broken wing mirror, was later found abandoned about half a mile away.

Ashley Donald, 24, was behind the wheel, and the passengers included his 59-year-old dad Samuel Henneberry.

Inside the car they had a number of weapons, including a wooden pole and a baseball bat.

Donald fled to Ireland two days after the collision, but returned in September and handed himself in at Coventry Police Station.

All the men denied the murder of Andrew Flamson and the three counts of attempted murder, as well as a charge of criminal damage involving the death of a dog.

In court, Donald argued that 52-year-old Carl Tomlinson had grabbed his arm and caused him to hit the Flamson group.

But today, he was found guilty of murder at Leamington Justice Centre.

Henneberry, Tomlinson, and Callum Ayre, 19, were also convicted of manslaughter.

A fifth man who was also on trial was found not guilty on all counts.

Detective Inspector Ranj Sangha, from the West Midlands Police homicide team, said: ‘This was a truly awful incident, with a car being used as a weapon in revenge for an argument over owed money.

‘The intention was at the very least to cause really serious harm and it has left families devastated by what happened – one grieving the loss of a father and uncle, and another coming to terms with their loved one suffering really serious life-changing injuries.

‘We can only hope that these verdicts bring some sense of peace for them.’

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