The county's most shocking crime stories of 2021

This is our round-up of the worst crimes we reported on this year.

* In January, paedophile Anthony Lane was jailed for 14 years after being found guilty of 13 counts of indecent assault between 1986 and 1989.

The 78-year-old of Mayflower Road, Droitwich, was sent down after a jury at Worcester Crown Court took just an hour to unanimously convict him of every count he was charged with.

Lane’s refusal to admit his crimes had earlier forced his victim, a child at the time but now a mother, to give evidence in front of a judge and jury.

She had done this with dignity, telling the court: “I am a survivor of child sexual abuse”.

* A “paranoid” man armed with an imitation submachine gun was shot by Worcester police outside his ex’s home in October.

Aaron Humphries, of Wetherfield Road, Birmingham, appeared at Worcester Crown Court via video link in November and admitted possession of an imitation firearm - an MP5K - and criminal damage offences. His case has been adjourned until January 7 next year as the court awaits the results of a psychiatric report.

Humphries had been surrounded by armed police in Ronkswood Hill on October 2 and was shot in the leg by an officer. That matter will be investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

The 31-year-old had already been convicted for the production of cannabis at a commercial unit in Worcester, at a separate hearing a month earlier. Police had seized more than 30 plants during their investigations.

* In September, pensioner David Venables pleaded not guilty to murdering his wife after her remains were found in a septic tank 37 years after she disappeared.

Brenda Venables was reported missing in 1982 from the couple’s then home in Bestmans Lane, Kempsey. Police launched an investigation after human remains were found at an address in Kempsey in 2019.

Venables, aged 88, of Elgar Drive, Kempsey, will stand trial at Birmingham Crown Court in June next year accused of killing his wife “on a day between May 2 and May 5 1982”.

* Murderer Mark Chilman was sentenced to serve at least 22 years in prison in August 2021 after burning his love rival alive in a brutal attack the previous December.

The 52-year-old handyman waited near a farm gate in the dark for Neil Parkinson before hitting over the head from behind, knocking him out. Chilman then drove Mr Parkinson, alive but unconscious, to a lay-by in Ankerdine Road, Cotheridge, near Worcester, and set him on fire.

Mr Parkinson had been returning home to care for his elderly mother after spending a romantic evening with Juliet Adcock, Chilman’s former partner.

* A Worcester woman accused of killing her mum denied her murder in a court appearance in September.

Jessica Crane, of Hillside Close, is accused of the fatal stabbing of 69-year-old Janet Mason in Green Lane, off Rainbow Hill, in March this year.

After pleading not guilty to the murder charge, Miss Crane was remanded in custody and will stand trial in January 2022.

* A Worcester youth hacked two other teenagers in the face with a ‘zombie’ knife in Worcester, leaving both scarred for life.

The 16-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, attacked the two 18-year-olds in Quay Street on June 4 this year.

He was detained for 40 months in November after admitting two counts of wounding with intent at Worcester Crown Court.

Had he been an adult found guilty after trial, the judge would have imposed a sentence of seven and a half years.

* Three men were jailed for a total of 33 years after a shot was fired at a police car during a police chase in Worcester.

Gerard Doherty, 21, of Oxford Road in Ryton-on-Dunsmore in Warwickshire, Ciaran Irvine, 20, of no fixed abode in Warwickshire, and Kyle Ryley, 23 of no fixed address, admitted multiple offences including possession of a firearm with intent to endanger life following the incident.

Police pursued the gang, who were travelling in a Volvo, through Worcester and out towards the motorway. At one point the car reversed into a police car before driving off again, officers were shot at by the occupants and eventually the Volvo clipped a curb, lost a wheel and hit another car before coming to a stop.

Officers called the gang’s actions, which took place during the day, “audacious, shocking and extremely dangerous”.

* Former teacher James Ndungu tried to meet two underage girls for “kisses and cuddles” while his wife was working a night shift as a care worker.

The 45-year-old, of Hillside Close, Worcester, admitted two counts of attempting to engage in sexual communication with a child after messaging two ‘decoy’ children set up by a vigilante group.

Ndungu was given a suspended prison term, told to complete a rehabilitation course, carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and sign the Sex Offender Register.