A man has been found guilty of murdering two young men after driving his black pickup truck the wrong way down a motorway slip road and crashing into their e-bike. Alex Rose, 30, was convicted at Guildford Crown Court for the incident that occurred in the early hours of July 22 last year.

The victims, William Birchard, 21, and Darren George, 22, were riding home from the King’s Fairway Pub in Ashford, Surrey, when they were struck on the M3/A316 slip road in Sunbury-on-Thames. Prosecutors described the collision as a “violent retaliation” after Rose had called the pair to assist him in searching for suspected burglars at his home.

Rose had seen “movement in the darkness” at around 11.40pm on July 21 and believed someone was attempting to break into his property. He contacted his friends, Charles Pardoe and Samuel Aspden, both 25, to join him in the search. Although they were not driving the pickup truck, the prosecution argued that Pardoe and Aspden acted together with Rose, encouraging him to commit the offences.

CCTV footage showed Birchard and George appearing to be “in no hurry” at 12.49am, but by 12.50am, they were seen being pursued at speeds exceeding 60mph by Rose and his friends. In an attempt to escape, the pair rode the e-bike the wrong way around a roundabout and down the slip road. Rose then deliberately crashed into the back of their e-bike, knocking them off.

After the collision, Rose performed a three-point turn on the dual carriageway and drove back up the slip road, passing the injured men without stopping to help. Prosecutor Deanna Heer KC stated that Birchard had already succumbed to fatal head injuries, while George, who was still alive, suffered catastrophic injuries and later died in hospital.

Neither victim was wearing a helmet at the time of the incident. Following the crash, Rose parked his vehicle near his home, and audio from a doorbell camera captured a voice saying, “What the f**k have you done?”

Pardoe and Aspden are also on trial, accused of murder, as the prosecution claims they assisted Rose in the pursuit of Birchard and George.