Grandmother Killed On Road Has Bag Stolen

A man who stole a woman's possessions just minutes after she was hit and killed by a lorry caused "heartache and sadness" to her family - and stopped her from being identified and buried immediately in accordance with her Muslim faith.

Grandmother Sarwari Ashraf, 62, was hit by a lorry in Manchester city centre in March this year.

Her body was carried 130 metres along the road from where her handbag and shoes landed in the middle of a junction.

Marc Kirvin, 46, ran into the road four minutes later and took her personal items, including a handbag and shoes.

He pocketed £1,600 in cash which was inside the bag and split it with his co-accused who was driving their passing vehicle, Manchester Magistrates' Court heard.

The pair then drove off and dumped the shoes and bag containing Mrs Ashraf's house keys, disability badge, bank cards and mobile phone into a wheelie bin on a nearby street.

Their actions led to a delay in her being identified and an immediate burial as part of her Muslim faith.

Jennifer Baines, prosecuting, said: "The most aggravating features in this case is because the handbag was taken there was no identification and the family were unaware for two days that their mother and grandmother had been taken away from them."

She said Mrs Ashraf's husband was in Pakistan at the time and it was only when she failed to turn up for an agreed meeting with her children the next day that the alarm was raised.

They had a further 12-hour wait to positively identify her through fingerprint evidence, she said.

In a victim impact statement, her son, Nadeem, said the disappearance of the handbag - which is still missing - had "prolonged their anguish".

"We cannot express in words the heartache and sadness that the offence has caused," he added.

Ms Baines said the Crown accepted that Kirvin and his co-accused were unaware the accident had just taken place in Upper Brook Street and that CCTV footage from the bus he stepped in front of confirmed that was the case.

Ms Baines said Kirvin made no attempt to hand himself in and was only arrested following a call from a member of the public to Crimestoppers on April 3 after the CCTV clip was released through the media.

His share of the stolen money was found at his home in West Avenue, Altrincham, when police called, as he told them he "could not bring himself to spend it".

He had originally planned to use it to take his wife on holiday but thought she would query where he had got the cash.

Then he decided to save it to buy Christmas presents for his children, the court heard.

When interviewed he said he had seen a bag in the road which looked like it had been driven over many times so decided to take it "out of greed".

He could not explain why he took the shoes.

Kirvin, who pleaded guilty to theft by finding, had one previous spent conviction for dishonesty in 1989.

Sentencing was adjourned until June 20 when his co-accused - who is currently in hospital after himself being involved in a road accident - will also appear at court.

District Judge Wendy Lloyd told Kirvin that all sentencing options were open
including custody as she granted him bail.

"Had it been anyone's handbag with a large amount of money and personal items inside there would have been enormous stress caused," she said. "But the reality here was that the stress was magnified many times over because of the particularly tragic circumstances."

Police inquiries are still continuing into the cause of the accident.