Wiltshire woman pleads guilty to causing fatal crash

The wife of a drugs "Mr Big'' who fled Britain after killing a primary school teacher in a road crash has finally been brought to justice

45 year old Paula Barnes [pictured] fled to Holland more than two years ago after being charged with causing death by dangerous driving.

Her husband, David, is currently serving a 12-year jail term for smuggling £25 million of cannabis into the UK from Holland in lorry loads of flowers. The couple led a lavish lifestyle funded by Mr Barnes's smuggling operation of importing thousands of kilos of cannabis.

Mrs Barnes was arrested in Holland earlier this month and extradited to the UK where today she admitted killing Diane Wright. Mrs Wright was killed in a collision in Foxhill, Baydon, near Swindon on September 23 2010. The mother-of-two, from Royal Wootton Bassett, worked as a teacher at St Nicholas School in Baydon.

Mrs Barnes was charged with causing death by driving and bailed to appear at court the following April but failed to show. She was at large until detectives tracked her down to Holland. On Thursday 22nd November at Swindon Crown Court she pleaded guilty to causing death by dangerous driving and failing to surrender.

Inspector Steve Cox, head of roads policing for Wiltshire Police, said:

"Paula Barnes has tried to evade justice by fleeing to Holland where she hoped to remain undetected. The fact she was caught, arrested, extradited and has now pleaded guilty to the charge of causing death by dangerous driving is testament to the hard work and dedication of my team.

Barnes was arrested in Holland on November 9 2012 and we were successful at an extradition hearing which led to her being brought back to the UK today. This afternoon, she appeared at Swindon Crown Court where she pleaded guilty to one count of causing death by dangerous driving and a further charge of failing to surrender.

Barnes was originally arrested after being released from hospital on November 4th 2010 following a two vehicle collision in Foxhill, Baydon, on September 23 2010. During this collision, the driver of the other vehicle involved, Dianne Wright, sadly died from her injuries at the scene. Barnes was then bailed to attend court on April 15th 2011 but failed to show. Nothing was seen or heard from her again.

Barnes has proved to be a callous and manipulative woman who thought she was above the law. This has been a very long and complex operation which has been led by officers in the Serious Collision Investigation Team at Wiltshire Police.

We hope that today, Dianne's family can somehow feel that justice has been finally served and at last begin to put this ordeal behind them."

Mrs Barnes, of Aldbourne Road, Baydon, has been remanded in custody and is due to be sentenced on January 18.

http://www.heart.co.uk 22/11/2012