Police checked on van driver

BRITAIN: Twenty-four hours before Darren Osborne allegedly drove into a crowd of Muslim worshippers in north London, police peered into his rented van in a Cardiff cul-de-sac.

Osborne was asleep at the wheel and drunk, according to a neighbour, but, after rousing him, officers decided there were no signs the van had recently been driven, so took no action. Had the officers decided on a different course, it might have stopped the Finsbury Park terror attack.

Osborne’s neighbour reported him to police at 12.30am on Sunday local time, hours after he had been thrown out of a local pub for allegedly threatening to ‘‘do damage’’ to Muslims.

Edward Gardiner, 29, who did not know Osborne, called the police after realising the man in the van was drunk, although he had not tried to move the vehicle.

’’He smelled strongly of alcohol and was moaning like you do when you wake up hung over. I had no idea what this guy was going to do. Hindsight is a beautiful thing.’’

It is believed that Osborne, 47, an unemployed painter and decorator, had been sleeping in the vehicle.

A South Wales police spokesman confirmed officers spoke to Osborne. ‘‘The officers’ assessment was that no offences were disclosed.’’

Osborne had been asked to leave the Hollybush pub near his home in Pentwyn after an angry rant against Muslims.

Andy Parker, the pub’s general manager, said Osborne was particularly angry about a proPalestinian rally – Al Quds Day – taking place in London the next day. The rally, attended by a few hundred people, is an annual event during Ramadan held in support of Palestine. It is often picketed by far-Right activists and there have been scuffles in the past.

Pro-Israel advocates had urged Sadiq Khan, the London mayor, to cancel this year’s march, at which one speaker reportedly made links between the Grenfell Tower fire and Zionists and some supporters waved the Hezbollah flag.

Parker believes Osborne may have intended to attack the march but arrived too late.

Neighbours said Osborne was seen in a local supermarket on the Sunday morning buying alcohol and carried on drinking. Other neighbours said Osborne had been living in a tent in the woods since separating from the mother of his children several months ago.

On the Sunday, Father’s Day in Britain, a neighbour heard him singing with his children, aged 5 to 16.

The friend, who wanted to remain anonymous, said: ‘‘He had his van but sold it about six months ago. Times were getting hard and he needed the money. He was going through a rough patch. He was drinking a lot at the weekends. He moved out [from the family home] because it was best for the kids.’’

‘‘I can’t imagine he would do this [Finsbury Park]. He didn’t talk about politics,’’ the friend said.

Kelly-Ann Yorath, 44, a close friend of Osborne’s whose children attend the same school, described him as a kind, lovable person.

– The Times