Former Aussie cricketer’s milk truck hijacked, used to kill sheep then burnt

A MAN allegedly pulled a former Australian cricketer out of her milk truck before stealing it, running over a sheep and setting it on fire in the state’s west.

Former Australian cricketer Marie Cornish (centre) from Wellington NSW was the victim of the milk truck heist at Wellington. Picture: NSW Education

A MAN allegedly pulled a former Australian cricketer out of her milk truck before stealing it, running over a sheep and setting it on fire in the state’s west.

Raymond Hammond’s allegedly wild joy ride started in the heart of Wellington at 11.30am on Monday when police claim he approached Marie Cornish, 59, opened the door and took the keys from the ignition.

Ms Cornish, a well-known sporting identify in Wellington who represented Australia in the 1970s, honked her horn but by the time bystanders had reacted she had been pulled out of the truck.

More than 10kms away and 30 minutes later a farmer at Neurea spotted a man going through his shearing shed.

He followed the man in the milk truck who allegedly ran over a sheep and only stopped when he crashed into a barbed wire fence and was bogged.

It’s alleged he then set the truck on fire before he was tackled by two residents and the property owner.

Where the incident took place.

Before police could arrive the man allegedly broke free and ran to a vehicle arming himself with an axe.

He allegedly threatened the residents before running from the property but was arrested a short distance away.

Hammond, 25, was charged with numerous offences including aggravated carjacking, using a weapon to avoid apprehension and resisting arrest.

He pleaded not guilty to all charges in Dubbo Local Court yesterday and was refused bail to reappear in August.

Ms Cornish said she only suffered a few scratches.

“I’m fine, anything could have happened to me. I could have been seriously hurt, but thankfully I wasn’t. I’ve learnt over the years if I fall I roll. It was so surreal, you don’t think it would happen,” she said.

“Unfortunately the truck is burnt out … trucks can be replaced. Our business is severely affected because we need to find a new truck. We’ve got two but we need both of them.”

She said she didn’t want the incident to give her hometown a bad name.

Neurea resident Steve Johnson said he saw the drama unfold on his neighbour’s property.

“I saw a bloke being tackled and a vehicle burning. I saw him being tackled by the police, it was high drama,” he said.

“He came across the Bell River somehow. He did laps around one of our paddocks. He tried to drive through a barbed wire fence and got bogged. At some stage he set the vehicle on fire. It’s completely destroyed.”