Friends pay tribute to suicide car-jacker

Dec 28 2007 by Paul Loraine, The Journal

A MAN who died after stealing a taxi and driving it off a cliff was identified last night.

Stephen Heslop, 22, forced taxi driver Brian Tate out of his car in the Marsden Grotto car park in South Shields at knifepoint, before driving through the safety barrier and off the cliff, plunging more than 120ft onto rocks.

Mr Tate raised the alarm and police, ambulance, fire brigade and South Shields Volunteer Life Brigade attended the incident at about 7.20pm on Boxing Day.

Mr Heslop was declared dead at the scene and fire crews removed his body from the wreckage.

Tributes to Mr Heslop, who lived at Lincoln Road in South Shields, were being left at the scene by family and friends last night.

One said: “Words can’t describe our heartache. No one can hurt you now. You’re free.”

A police spokesman said: “At 7.20pm on Wednesday, December 26, we received a report that a 41-year-old local man had been robbed at knife-point and his car, a Nissan Primera, had been stolen.

“This vehicle was then driven off towards Whitburn, crashed through a barrier, over the cliff and onto the beach. The occupant of the car, a 22-year-old local man, was killed.” After the incident, the wrecked taxi was hauled up to the car park and taken away by police.

South Shields fire station crew manager John Reay said: “Two crews from South Shields and three from Hebburn were initially called.

“The car had gone through the barriers and had landed on its roof at some point and then came to rest on its wheels. The cliff was at least 120ft.

“We had to cut off the vehicle’s roof, which had been compressed. There was a male in his 20s inside and he had not survived. It was an unfortunate incident all round.”

David Osguthorpe, a good friend of Mr Tate who also works for Marsden Taxis, said: “The driver has had to go off the road. He went straight to the police station and then home. Everything Brian had was in his car, including his keys and his phone.

“He is a good friend of mine, so I will have to see him later today and make sure he is OK.”

People living in nearby Grotto Road were saddened at another death at a beauty spot increasingly associated with tragedy. One woman said: “I saw a helicopter hovering outside for quite a while.

“I wondered if someone had gone over the cliff. A number of people have died after trying to take their lives and jumping over.

“This is a beautiful spot, but it’s also a death spot. There are signs on the coast asking people to ring the Samaritans if they are in despair. But many people don’t think about that when they come here.

“It’s quite shocking and sad when somebody dies in this way.”