Man charged with murder after death of father-of-two in Surrey

Incident took place following an altercation between a group of men

A police officer stands beside a cordon at the junction of Cloister Court and Church Street, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, where a man died and another was airlifted to hospital after a car was driven at them (PA)

A man has appeared in court charged with murder of a father-of-two who died after being struck by a BMW in Surrey.

Shaan Mir spoke only to confirm his name, address and age when he appeared briefly before Guildford Magistrates’ Court this morning.

Mr Mir was told by magistrate John Elford that due to the murder charge, his case would be transferred immediately to the crown court to be dealt with by a judge who is expected to remand him in custody awaiting trial.

He will appear later today at Guildford Crown Court.

Mr Mir is accused of running down Matthew Tester, 49, known locally in Walton-upon-Thames as Tik, in a white 1 series BMW near a Marks & Spencer store on Thursday. Mr Tester, a scaffolder, tragically died at the scene.

Read more:

• Man dead and another seriously injured after BMW ‘driven at them’ in Surrey

Police said the men were known to each other and that the incident occurred following an altercation between a group of men, which resulted in one of them getting into their car and driving at two of the others.

A second man in his 40s was also hit by the car and suffered serious injuries but is expected to recover after being airlifted to hospital.

Mr Mir, from Weybridge, has been charged with murder and attempted murder after being arrested on Thursday.

A cordon was in place behind the nearby Church Street M&S store, which remained open, while the car park was closed on Thursday.

While initial reports suggested the incident took place in the store’s car park, police later confirmed it actually happened in a nearby public access road.

Surrey Police were called to the area at 2.15pm on Thursday 22 April after the disagreement broke out and dramatically escalated.

Despite emergency services rushing to the scene, Mr Tester was quickly pronounced dead.

Police said a white BMW thought to be involved in the incident was later found unoccupied about four miles away from the scene in Addlestone, Surrey.

Detective Chief Inspector David Springett, who is leading the investigation, has appealed for witnesses: “If you witnessed this incident or have any information relating to it and have not yet spoken to police, I would urge you to do so. A local man has sadly lost his life and our thoughts are very much with his family who are being supported by specialist officers at this difficult time.”

He added: “We are particularly interested in speaking to anyone who may have seen a white 1 series BMW in the area during the immediate period beforehand or afterwards as it left from the scene on Church Street at around 2pm, driving towards the High Street.

“A white BMW, suspected of being the vehicle involved, was later found unoccupied at Temple Field Close in Addelstone and has since been recovered.”

Meanwhile, Sergeant Pat Bauer said Mr Tester’s death was believed to be an “isolated incident” and that some of those involved were previously known to each other.

“There have been some reports speculating about road rage but initial enquiries do not support this and it is believed some of the parties were previously known to each other,” he said.

Mr Tester’s family described him as a “much-loved son, husband, father, brother, uncle and friend to so many” over the weekend.

His brother, who asked not to be named, told the Daily Mail: “This tragedy has absolutely rocked the family who have been devastated by Tik’s death. The hurt and sadness we’ve felt over the past few days simply cannot be fully quantified … and something no-one should ever experience.”

Tik’s daughter told the paper “dad taught me how to live”.

“Our favourite thing was just to laugh, because even in our darkest time we did it together,” she said.