It took just 48-seconds to change the lives of two families and a whole tight-knit community for good. Dads Thomas 'Tommy' Sharp and Patrick 'Paddy' Connors are believed to have met at a funeral and been drinking on September 23, 2020.
They both knew each other as they were popular members of the travellers community and both came from big families. Later on that evening Tommy, 29, was driving his Mercedes C Class with Paddy, 36, as his front seat passenger.
CCTV showed them driving around the Lower Broughton area of Salford until they pass an unmarked police car on Elton Street around 11.46pm, just off Great Clowes Street. The unmarked car begins to follow the pair, who turn onto Lower Broughton Road, with the blue lights switched on soon after, beginning what would be a short chase, ending in Tommy, nicknamed 'mush', and Paddy, losing their lives.
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A huge outpouring of grief from the travelling community would follow, with areas of Greater Manchester brought to a standstill for their wakes and funerals. An inquest into both their deaths concluded this week, giving a narrative conclusion that they were both over the legal drink drive limit and not wearing seatbelts at the time of the crash, and that the police chase was 'legitimate and proportionate'.
The inquest at Bolton town hall heard that another member of the traveller community, a cousin of Tommy's, had died during a police chase more than a year previously, with this incident hitting the family's of Paddy and Tommy particularly hard. The weeks proceeding their deaths saw large gatherings as a memorial to both of them, despite the Covid-19 restrictions in place at the time.
Friends and family of Paddy gathered in Lowton, blocking Derby Road where he lived, with a number of high-performance cars as well as motor-homes and flat-bed trucks donning posters and tributes to Paddy the day before his funeral on October 9, 2020. In traveller culture, a wake happens before the funeral. The Irish tricolour was seen waving while there were also floral tributes and huge gold-coloured ornament mounted on a truck.
More than 50 are thought to have attended this with a huge procession in Wigan for his funeral the next day. A plane took to the air to paint the sky the colours of the Irish flag and four horses pulled along a white coffin for the dad-of-four. The procession headed down Warrington Road with the casket reading 'Big Paddy' with a silver Rolls-Royces and lines of colourful supercars following the crowds. Paddy's casket was then carried along the last mile Rolls-Royces and lines of colourful supercars followed the crowds.
A very similar display of mourning was made for dad-of-two Tommy a few days before Paddy. His wake in Miles Platting was attended by more than a hundred people with supercars revving up and down Oldham Road on the night. One car had a picture of Tommy on the door as well as the words 'no 1 Tommy Sharp'.
A funeral procession again with Rolls-Royces and a horse-drawn carriage took Tommy through the streets of Manchester and Salford. Car registration plates were changed to 'R MUSH' with family giving a send off 'fit for a King'. Tommy, who lived on Duchy Road Caravan Park, Salford, was taken to Our Lady and the Apostles Parish Church in Edgeley, Stockport, where he was laid to rest.
Their deaths may have happened more than two years ago, but the pain over their losses is still very much felt by their family. They told the jury at the inquest hearing just how much they meant to them and the wider traveller community.
Tommy's wife Alicia Sharp said at the inquest: "He was loved by his children and his family. He would help out anybody if he could.
"He loved his two young children and they loved him, they were his life. He lived for his children and his family. His mum died in 2010 which was very hard for him, we nicknamed our daughter 'Boo' after her.
"Tommy was from a big family, he was one of 10 siblings. He was the baby of the 10, they used to call him that. We had been married for nine years. Tommy was a big part of the local travellers community."
Tommy's brother, Douglas, added: "Tommy loved life. He was a very kind hearted person. He would always make sure he was home after working to be with his wife and children. Tommy would spend time with his family no matter what was going on.
"He got on with anyone and everyone that he met. Life and soul of the party, that was Tommy, he loved life. Tommy had a great heart, he was an out and out gentleman."
Paddy's wife, Margaret Connors, described him as a 'giddy person' who was one of seven children. He was "always making a laugh or a joke," she said. "He was very close to the family, especially our four kids. Paddy worked very hard for his family.
"We settled in Wigan and have been there for years, he just couldn't keep still for a second. (Paddy's death) It's still something I will never get over. I just miss him for the simple things."
At the conclusion of the inquest on Wednesday (February 1) a note from the jury was read to the court by senior coroner Timothy Brennand. It said: "On behalf of the jurors we would like to pass on our sincere condolences to the family and friends for the terrible loss of their loved one."
Mr Brennand 'associated' himself with the comments made by the jury and commended the family for their endeavour and involvement in the inquest process despite the length of them.
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