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A short life full of crime

By ADVERTISER REPORTER.

A life of petty crime led Newark teenager Fred Barras to his death. 

Fred (16) of Devon Road, Newark, died from shotgun wounds at Bleak House Farm, Emneth, on the night of August 19.

Fred's parents divorced when he was a baby and he was brought up as the only son among six children by his mother, Mrs Ellen Barras.

Barras was charged with stealing garden furniture and bailed by Newark magistrates a week before his death, despite objections from police. His first conviction was at the age of 13.

Said his mother: "He was a thief but he didn't deserve this.

"Fred was a loveable boy and always smiling.

"He first got into trouble at 12 for stealing some bits from a shop.

"After that he seemed in and out of trouble all the time.

"They were just petty crimes.

"But even though he kept getting into trouble I never gave up on him."

He went to Oliver Quibell Infants and Hawtonville Junior schools before moving on to Sconce Hills High School.

He was expelled from there when he was 12 and did not go back to school - instead he worked on markets in Newark and Lincoln.

His funeral at Newark Parish Church on September 9 was attended by hundreds of travellers.

Five flower-laden trucks accompanied the hearse carrying his body.

The Rev Richard Harlow-Trigg, Vicar of Christ Church, asked the congregation to forget thoughts of violence and revenge.

Shortly after the funeral, getaway driver Darren Bark went on the run; forced out of town - say the Newark couple he lodged with - because of death threats made against him by Newark's travelling community.

After his capture in Torquay and subsequent imprisonment Bark begged, through the Advertiser, to be allowed to do his time without fear of retribution and pledged never to return to Newark.

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