Soccer

Former football coach dies in car crash ahead of abuse trial

Michael ‘Kit’ Carson (75) found dead on day he was due in court over claims by 11 boys

Former youth football coach and scout Michael ‘Kit’ Carson. File photograph: Joe Giddens/PA Wire

Tue Jan 8 2019 - 21:33

A former youth football coach and scout was found dead in a single-vehicle car crash on the day he was due to go on trial accused of the historical sexual abuse of boys aged under 16.

Michael “Kit” Carson (75) had pleaded not guilty at an earlier hearing at Cambridge Crown Court to 12 counts of indecent assault and one of inciting a child to engage in sexual activity.

Cambridgeshire Police said the allegations involved 11 victims, all boys under the age of 16, between 1978 and 2009.

Carson had worked at Norwich City, Peterborough United and Cambridge United.

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His trial was listed to start at Peterborough Crown Court on Monday, and on Tuesday the court was told details of his death.

Jeremy Benson, prosecuting, said: "The defendant died yesterday morning."

“He was involved in a road traffic collision at about 9.45am yesterday morning.

“No other vehicles were involved. There is an investigation being carried out and I therefore don’t propose to go into any other details.

"The position is that the car was registered to Mr Carson and the person who died was of the appropriate age and had in his possession identification documents in the name of Mr Carson and also yesterday afternoon at approximately 4.30pm the body was identified by Mr Carson's widow."

Inspector Amarjit Singh QPM told the court the body of Carson was formally identified by his wife Pauline Carson.

Judge Matthew Lowe ruled that the case file be closed.

Carson, of St Bartholomew’s Court, Riverside, Cambridge, had been on bail.

The scene on the A1303 near Bottisham in Cambridgeshire where a red Mazda 3 driven by youth football and scout Michael ‘Kit’ Carson collided with a tree. Photograph: Joe Giddens/PA Wire

Cambridgeshire Police said in a statement that Carson was driving his red Mazda 3 when it left the road and went into a tree on the A1303 at Bottisham, around 11km (7 miles) east of Cambridge.

A large section of bark, almost one metre square, was missing from the base of a large tree at what appeared to be the crash site, off a straight section of single-carriageway road within a 60m/h (100km/h) speed limit.

A force spokesman said: “Emergency services attempted to save Mr Carson’s life but he was declared dead at the scene a short time later.”

“No other vehicle or person was involved in the collision.”

Anyone who saw the collision or has dash cam footage is asked to call police on 101, quoting incident 100 of January 7th. – PA

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