Convicted robber killed best friend after Soho Tavern night out in horror Christmas Day smash

A convicted robber who killed his 'best friend' at a 'notorious' accident hotspot after a night out at Soho Tavern has been locked up over the horror Christmas Day smash. Drink driver Nirvair Lall was speeding in the moments before he lost control of his Ford Fiesta and hurtled into a tree.

The 25-year-old managed to scramble out of the car after it dramatically flipped onto its side. But his passenger - and robbery accomplice - Inderjot Singh suffered fatal injuries and could not be saved.

Police managed to work out he had been flouting the speed limit in the lead-up to the crash after checking data from an electronic tag fitted on him when he was freed from jail. The collision came just three years after Lall and Singh took part in a terrifying robbery, which saw a fellow gang member killed as he fled the scene on a stolen motorbike.

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Wolverhampton Crown Court heard how Lall and Singh had been drinking together at Soho Tavern, in Hockley, on Christmas Eve 2022. Footage from CCTV captured Lall walking to the driver's door of the black Ford Fiesta, which was parked outside the Indian eatery.

The defendant was seen to drive away from the venue, with 23-year-old Singh in the front passenger seat. Lall then headed to Wolverhampton, via the M5 and M6, prosecutor Howard Searle said.

He met his girlfriend at her home in Tettenhall, after arranging to pick up keys he had left with her at about 1.50am. Lall then drove back towards Birmingham, exiting the M6 at junction 7 for Great Barr.

At the Scott Arms junction, he turned right onto Newton Road before eventually turning left onto Forge Lane, West Bromwich. The court heard how Lall 'lost control' of the Fiesta 'due to his speed' as he turned into a 'shallow right hand curve'.

The vehicle crashed into a tree and 'upturned on the driver's side' just before 2.15am. Lall - who had not been wearing a seatbelt - managed to free himself from the car.

Singh had been wearing his seatbelt but suffered injuries he could not survive and was pronounced dead at the scene. Motorists who were also on the road rushed to help, Mr Searle added.

Lall spoke to police at the crash site, initially giving 'false details' and claiming he was a passer-by. Soon after, he gave his correct details but wrongly claimed he was a rear seat passenger and that the driver had run off.

A police helicopter was then scrambled in a bid to locate the bogus runaway driver. A roadside breath test about an hour after the collision indicated that Lall had 88 milligrammes of alcohol in 100 millilitres of blood - the legal limit is 80mg.

A hospital blood test taken about four hours after the crash indicated that he had 122mg of alcohol in 100ml of blood. In his police interview, Lall again insisted he was the rear seat passenger and claimed he had fallen asleep during the journey.

He continued to lie to officers, describing how he only woke up when the collision took place. Lall also recalled how the pair had drank 'about a quarter bottle of spirits' at Soho Tavern and how he had been 'drinking all day'.

Police managed to prove he was the driver and charged him in August 2024, the court heard. The convict was wearing an early release tag at the time of the crash, which recorded his location and the speed he was travelling.

About 10 minutes before the smash, he was said to be travelling at 90mph. He was travelling at 101mph on the M6 about seven minutes before the collision, Mr Searle said.

Lall was travelling at 76mph when he was about 300 metres from the point of collision. There are 40mph and 50mph limits along various stretches of Newton Road.

Forge Lane, which is a 30mph zone, is known to be 'notorious for accidents and poorly lit', Mr Searle added. The court heard how Lall and Singh took part in a violent robbery in June 2019.

They were part of a group who knocked victim Shaun Field off his motorcycle before kicking and stamping on him. Their co-accomplice Karnveer Singh Purewal fled on Mr Field's Honda motorbike without wearing a helmet but crashed soon after and died.

When he was released on licence, Lall was fitted with the electronic tag and made subject to a condition not to contact Singh. Harbinder Lally, defending, said 'remorseful' Lall had lost a friend who was 'like a brother' but 'has himself to blame'.

Mr Lally said: "He should not have been with Singh but that was mutual. Singh shouldn't have been with Lall. They were told to keep away from each other but they were like brothers, they couldn't keep away from each other.

"He will have to live with this for the rest of his life." Judge Michael Chambers KC said Lall - who fractured his shoulder in the Christmas crash - 'may have been driving at grossly excessive speeds' but had not been charged with dangerous driving.

The defendant had also been 'drinking excessively' in Soho Tavern. He said: "There are tragic parallels between the previous incident and the present one. This was a very serious offence of its kind."

Lall admitted causing death by careless driving while over the prescribed limit and was jailed for four years on Monday, November 11. He was also handed a seven-year driving ban.

Birmingham Crown Court previously heard how Mr Field had ridden to Barr Beacon nature reserve on his Honda bike to relax before heading home for dinner. He had been there for about 30 or 40 minutes and was leaving at its Beacon Way exit at about 7.40pm when he spotted a grey Ford Fiesta.

He noticed men inside the vehicle were donning 'balaclavas'. They tried to block him on a single-track path before he was 'attacked from all angles' as he tried to get past, the court was told.

Lall - then 21, and of Amberley Green, Great Barr - denied robbery but was convicted following trial and jailed for three and a half years in March 2021. Singh - then 21, and of Fordington Place, Warwick - was locked up for three years and one month after pleading guilty to robbery.