Hickey bailed over 15 drug offence charges

A REDDITCH man, falsely imprisoned for 19 years for the murder of paper boy Carl Bridgewater, has been charged with drug offences.

Vincent Hickey, of Drayton Close, appeared before Redditch Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday (June 13) charged with 15 drug offences, which occurred between July and October 2011.

The charges include four counts of possession of a Class A drug, four counts of possession with intent to supply a Class A drug, two counts of possession of a Class B drug, two counts of possession with intent to supply a Class B drug and three counts of possession of a Class C drug.

The 54-year-old was granted unconditional bail and will next appear at Worcester Crown Court on August 15.

Hickey, along with cousin Michael Hickey and James Robinson, were wrongly convicted in 1979 of murdering 13-year-old Carl Bridgewater in Stourbridge.

They were free in 1997 after the High Court quashed their convictions. Patrick Molloy was also jailed for 12 years for manslaughter but died in prison in 1981.

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