Stolen JCB found on county farm
4:40pm Thursday 17th July 2008
A MAN received a suspended prison sentence after a stolen JCB digger and trailer were found on his Herefordshire farm.
Philip Jones, aged 47, appeared at Worcester Crown Court where he admitted two counts of handling stolen property, as well as possession of a firearm without a certificate, possession of ammunition without a certificate and possession of expanding ammunition without authority.
Francis Laird, prosecuting, said on March 16 last year police arrived at Jones’ home at Lower Sodgeley Farm, Kingsland, with a warrant. They found the JCB and the trailer.
They also discovered a loaded shotgun, which was locked in a case, as well as ammunition.
Mr Laird said Jones had a record stretching back 20 years for dishonesty and added: “This is a man who supplements his income by offences of dishonesty.
“This includes handling stolen goods of farm or agricultural equipment or in the case of the digger, in the construction industry.”
He said the digger was disguised to look like one which someone nearby owned, but had been stolen from Worcester in October 2006, and the trailer was stolen in February 2005.
The combined value of the goods given by owners was around £27,000.
He added that Jones said he was hiring out the barn where the JCB was to a man who police were unable to trace, and that the trailer had been bought at auction.
Denis Desmond, defending, said his client had not been in trouble with the law for seven years and that the gun was not held for sinister purposes but that Jones had held it legally before gaining a criminal conviction in 1991, when his certificate was revoked as a result.
He added: “It was in a case and a locksmith was needed to open it. It was not for nefarious purposes.”
He added that the ammunition had been left as a result of others using his land to shoot.
For all the offences, Jones was handed a 12-month sentence suspended for two years, ordered to carry out 250 hours unpaid work, comply with an 18-month supervision order and pay £1,944 court costs.