Lee Hughes

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Lee Hughes
Personal information
Full name Lee Hughes
Date of birth May 22, 1976
Place of birth    Smethwick, England
Height 5ft 10in
Nickname Ginger Ninja, Balti Boy
Playing position Striker
Club information
Current club Free Agent
Youth clubs
West Bromwich Albion
Senior clubs1
Years Club App (Gls)*
1997-2001
2001-2002
2002-2004
West Bromwich Albion
Coventry City
West Bromwich Albion
155 (79)
42 (15)
55 (11)   

1 Senior club appearances and goals
counted for the domestic league only and
correct as of 08/10/2006.
* Appearances (Goals)

Lee Hughes (born in Smethwick, West Midlands, May 22, 1976) is an English footballer, as of 2005 in prison for causing death by dangerous driving.

On leaving Bristnall Hall High School, Oldbury in 1992 he signed for Kidderminster Harriers and played for them in the GM Vauxhall Conference, as well as having a part-time job as a roofer. He scored 35 goals in Kidderminster's 1996-97 GM Vauxhall Conference campaign but they were beaten to promotion into the Football League by Macclesfield Town. Hughes was then sold to West Bromwich Albion for £200,000 - the record fee paid for a non-league player. He described it as a 'dream come true', being a lifelong supporter of the club.

Hughes was a key player in the Albion side of the late 1990s and turn of the 21st century, scoring 31 Division One goals in the 1998-99 season - more than any other player in the Football League or the Premier League. However, he was unable to get Albion into the Premiership and was sold to Coventry City for £5million in the summer of 2001. City had just been relegated from the Premiership after 34 years of top division football and Hughes was seen as the man to help fire the club back into the Premiership. City narrowly missed out on the playoffs while Hughes's former club Albion were promoted to the Premiership. He soon returned to Albion for £2.5million - half the fee Albion had received for him a year earlier. Despite being a regular first team player, Hughes was unable to score a single Premiership goal in 2002-03 and Albion were relegated in 19th place with just 6 wins and 26 points from 38 matches.

During the 2003-2004 season, Hughes was involved in a car crash in which his Mercedes CL500 colided with a Renault Scenic near the Warwickshire village of Meriden. A passenger in the Renault was killed. Hughes and his passenger fled the scene before turning themselves in to the police the following day. Hughes was charged with causing death by dangerous driving and released on police bail, allowing him to complete Albion's Division One campaign and gain them promotion to the Premiership with Hughes being the club's leading league goalscorer on 13 goals.

On August 9, 2004, Hughes was found guilty of causing the death by dangerous driving of Douglas Graham, and of leaving the scene of an accident. The judge criticised Hughes for having a "callous disregard" for the four occupants of the Renault and he was sentenced to six years imprisonment and was banned from driving for ten years. His contract with West Bromwich Albion was terminated. In January 2005, his appeal for his sentence to be reduced was refused [1]. He is currently being held at Ramby low security prison in Nottinghamshire and his earliest possible date for release falls in August 2007.

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