Children screamed as father 'drove into river'

Two children screamed for help and banged on the windows as a car driven by their father sank into an icy river, a court heard yesterday.

Five-year-old Gabrielle Grady died after being trapped in the submerged vehicle, but her six-year-old brother Ryan survived along with his father, Christopher Grady, after the pair were pulled from the water by police. Grady, 42, denies murder and attempted murder.

Witness Nicholas Langstone told Birmingham Crown Court yesterday that he saw Grady circle "aggressively" around a field in Evesham, Worcestershire, before driving into the Avon last February.

"I could just make out the back end of the car," he said. "There was somebody banging on the back window, I think it was a child. They were saying 'help me, help me'."

Gabrielle was pulled through the sunroof by specialist divers two hours later but died in hospital three days later.

Prosecutor Graham Reeds QC said Grady told doctors in hospital after the incident that he had driven into the river because he had "had enough" of the children's mother, Kim Smith, "trying to take my kids away".