A man has pleaded guilty to receiving stolen flowers meant for the funeral of hugely popular dad Andrew Corfield.
Jonathan George Gregory appeared at Teesside Magistrates’ Court today after the “Pops” arrangement was discovered in his North Ormesby home.
The court heard that the flowers - an arrangement from Mr Corfield’s granddaughter - had been taken from outside Middlesbrough’s Alstro’s Florists on November 30 last year, just hours before the 39-year-old’s funeral.
Alan Davison, prosecuting, said Gregory and his friend had spotted the flowers but that he had told his acquaintance not to touch them.
But the 39-year-old claims he later found them inside his Jubilee Street home and handed them back - adding his head was all over the place at the time.
However the florist, Darren Hunter, had already started making inquiries in the area and was directed to the defendants address where he spotted them through a window.
Peter Harris, defending, said his client “made some admissions in interview” and “is a gentleman who has had a number of issues.”
“The flowers were only out of the owners hands for a short period of time,” he added. “It didn’t cause any issues for the funeral.”
Mr Corfield died just seconds after leaving his Hemlington home on October 28.
He and his 17-year-old daughter Alice, who is still fighting for her life, were travelling in a car when they were involved in a crash at the junction of Fordyce Road and Cass House Road.
His untimely death has left his loved ones and many friends heartbroken - with hundreds of mourners turning out to bid him an emotional farewell.
Speaking to the Gazette previously, Darren Hunter, said he was “disgusted” at what had happened at his Kings Road, North Ormesby, shop.
“I just can’t believe someone would do it,” said Darren, 48, who had to repair some damage on the arrangement before the funeral.
“I didn’t tell the family what had happened until after the funeral because I didn’t want to cause even more upset,” he added.
“They were disgusted and rightly so.
“People can’t go about doing this kind of thing.”
Gregory, who pleaded guilty to receiving stolen goods, breaching a community order and failing to answer bail, will be sentenced on Thursday, February 19, to allow for a report to be prepared by the probation service.
Elaine Whitehead, chairwoman of the bench, at today’s hearing said she was “not happy” to deal with the case then and there.
Teenager Jake McCabe was jailed for seven-and-a-half years in December for causing the crash which killed Andrew Corfield.
McCabe, 18, pleaded guilty to death by dangerous driving, causing serious injury by dangerous driving, handling stolen goods and driving while not licensed or insured.
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