The Diary

24 November 2003: Lee Hughes Goes Missing

Oh dear, what an almighty mess. I was originally going to devote the bulk of this entry to the many questions raised in the aftermath of yesterday?s home draw with Reading, but what could be termed ?certain events? have completely turned my original intentions right about face. I refer, of course, to the stunning news this morning that police were seeking Hughsie in connection with a serious road traffic accident late last night ? a collision - which occurred near Coventry, in which an elderly man died, and two other people in the same vehicle (a Renault Megane) were injured, one with a broken leg, and the other with a broken pelvis. Another person in the car suffered bruising.

To be honest, it?s only now that I?ve really been able to get totally up to speed on the story. The first I knew about it was when The Fart rang me shortly before we were due to visit the ?out-laws? for a late Sunday lunch. He, too, was in a hurry, but he did manage to give me the bare bones of the story, which took about thirty seconds to relate, but during the course of that brief period of time, my jaw must have dropped about six feet. My astonishment must have conveyed itself to my other half with startling rapidity, because once I?d hung up, he immediately wanted to know what was the matter. And yes, when I relayed the grim news to him, his jaw also plunged in perfect synchronicity with mine.

When we finally arrived at our destination, we quickly plugged in to the ?olds? TV and Ceefax, but the only details available at that time were the ones I?ve set out below, that derive primarily from stuff already in the public domain. As we didn?t return home until early this evening, the only other info I?ve been able to glean is what you see on here. Please also note, the only contact I?ve ever had with Lee Hughes is a few words exchanged between us when I?ve been at the ground for one reason or another during midweek, on pre-season tours, supporters club meetings, plus the time he visited our local Indian restaurant and takeaway a few years back. I don?t know him that well personally, and neither does anyone connected to GD, so the words below are those of the police, the media, plus a few of mine as well. They most certainly don?t represent any particular editorial stance on the matter.

According to the police statement issued earlier today, ?the male driver of the Mercedes left the scene with one of the passengers, three other passengers remained at the scene and inquiries are on-going to find the driver.? Additionally, according to tonight?s Sky news (as of 11 pm) the police also visited Lee?s home at some stage today, but he wasn?t there, and the place is now unoccupied and one of the windows boarded up. This in itself, of course, doesn?t signify anything sinister; it may well be that in the absence of any inhabitants, the police had to force entry, and having done that and established Lee wasn?t there, they then contacted someone to re-secure the house pending the return of his wife, who might, of course, be away visiting her own parents in Croatia.

I suppose what?s troubling me right now is the current location of our missing striker. Had he given himself up to the police at the time, he would have been arrested, no doubt, possibly charged, then bailed pending an appearance at the local magistrates court if the police felt the evidence was sufficient for matters to go that far. The initial alleged offence is serious, almost certainly a Crown Court matter, eventually, but not necessarily one that could completely blight his career. Now he?s gone missing and the police are looking everywhere for him, this puts any possible forthcoming charges into a completely different dimension altogether. The courts tend to view a ?hit and run? type offence very seriously indeed, and the fatality, plus the injuries to the other passengers, makes things even worse still. If so-called ?friends? are sheltering him, they are doing him a great disservice, but, of course, it?s not them that will have to account for what happened in a court, in front of a judge and jury. Obviously, the longer Lee tries to evade the law, the worse it will be for him in the long run. Let?s hope that now he?s had almost a day to reflect on his actions, commonsense will ultimately prevail and he?ll turn himself in voluntarily.

As for his parents and the rest of his own family (who mostly live locally), they must be absolutely sick with worry right now, and the same, of course, applies to his wife and young children. Even if Lee doesn?t owe it to himself to face the music, he certainly owes it to them; the uncertainty of the whole thing must be tearing them apart. The real problem I?m having with this right now is where the hell he thinks he can run to? Sure, his actions may have been prompted by sheer panic, and that I can well understand, as it happened to me once, although my experience of such a situation wasn?t quite in that sort of league.

Cast your minds back to 1983, when we played Wolves at their place, not long before the end of that season. Shortly before the kick-off, I decided to visit their ladies toilet at the rear of the stand, but the general decrepitude of the place was so bad, when I pulled the chain on completion of my ?task? the entire toilet, cistern, pipes, fittings and all, descended in a noisy and rusty heap around my ankles, with water gushing everywhere. My first thought, on realising what had happened was, ?My God, the bloody headlines!? And, dear reader, I ran, cowardy-custard that I am, like the clappers, even though the bog had self-destructed without any assistance whatsoever from me. It?s trivial, sure, and once I?d left Molineux, hilarious, but it?s a perfect example of what blind panic can do to someone who?s fundamentally law-abiding.

Being charitable, there is one other possibility to consider, and that?s a head injury causing temporary amnesia. Lee may have fled the scene, certainly, but done this in a concussed state, not being entirely responsible for his subsequent actions. But surely, if this was the case, he would have heard and seen the numerous TV and radio appeals for him to go to the nearest police station? In any case, if concussion were the problem, he really would need to see a doctor as a matter of urgency, if only to exclude more serious conditions like brain haemorrhage, which can quite easily occur following a heavy blow to the head. Again, this is pure speculation on my part; an attempt to rationalise actions that appear, on the face of it, totally irrational.

As I said earlier, excluding the possibilities I?ve discussed, where the hell does he think he can run to? According to Sky news, the police have contacted Lee?s friends and ?his employers?, presumably the Albion, to see if they can shed light on his whereabouts; as far as I can ascertain, they don?t have the foggiest idea either. Could Lee have fled the country? Surely not. In any European country, he would stand out like a sore thumb. Linguistics is not one of his strong points, I would guess, and in any case, getting a flight at that time of night would be difficult, to say the least, and the same applies to the cross-Channel ferries etc. All that, of course, assuming he?s managed to retrieve his passport from wherever it?s kept.

The problem is, the longer he leaves turning himself in, the worse his predicament becomes, and the more difficult the possibility of introducing any mitigating circumstances into his defence at any subsequent trial. What Lee needs right now is for someone he respects and trusts ? family, a fellow-player, his manager, a close friend, his solicitor, whoever it takes - to talk to him, via a TV and/or radio appeal, maybe, or at a mutually-agreed location, and try to persuade him that what he?s doing right now will only end in heartache. Not just for him, for his wife, his family, the relatives of those killed and injured in the crash, and ? trite, I know, but fundamentally true ? the reputation of the football club I know he loves so much.

It?s a long shot, I realise, but if anyone reading this does know of his whereabouts, then perhaps they could try talking some sense into him? Although things are looking black for Lee right now, it?s not the end of the world. People can tangle with the law and emerge from the whole experience looking at the world in a completely different light. I know, because I?ve seen it happen. The daft thing about all this is that fundamentally, Lee isn?t a bad lad. On the few occasions I?ve talked with him at any length, I?ve invariably found him to be a typical Black Country bloke, the sort you?ll find propping up bars in any pub from here to Tipton, and with an accent you could fry faggots on. No airs or graces whatsoever, not, perhaps, the sharpest tool in the box, some might say, but worships his very close-knit family, works hard, and plays hard as well. Had he still been employed as a roofer, you wouldn?t have looked at him twice.

I can only conclude by expressing the wish that sanity will ultimately prevail, and Lee will duly emerge from the shadows to take whatever is coming to him. Let?s hope, for everyone?s sake, that with the dawning of a new day, he sees the matter in (literally) a new light, because any other outcome to this matter is simply too awful to contemplate.

 - Glynis Wright

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