BOLTON: Driver jailed after repeatedly handling stolen Range Rovers

During a trial at Bolton Magistrates’ Court Myles Hindley produced documents purporting to be a hire agreement for a £30,00 Range Rover he was caught with on July 2, 2020.

But the court rejected his claim and found him guilty after discovering that the hire company mentioned in his paperwork, which all appeared to have been produced using the same printer, did not exist and the ‘contract’ matched one which could be downloaded from the internet.

“It even had the same spelling mistakes,” Betsy Hindle, prosecuting, told Bolton Crown Court.

As well as being convicted of handling the Range Rover, 31-year-old Hindley, of New Street, Blackrod, admitted handling another stolen Ranger Rover and a VW Toureg.

Myles Hindley

“Only an immediate sentence of custody can be justified,” the Honorary Recorder of Bolton, Martin Walsh told Hindley as he jailed him for two years.

The cases had been sent to the Crown Court for sentencing and Miss Hindle told how Hindley, a railway trackman, committed his first offence on August 3, 2019, when police stopped a VW Touareg on the A6. It had been stolen in a burglary in Bramall on June 26 and was bearing false number plates.

When Hindley failed to turn up to the police station for a pre-arranged interview he was arrested at Manchester Airport.

“The defendant claimed that he had hired the vehicle and paid a £1,000 deposit and a recurring £380 a month for rental,” said Miss Hindle.

“When these claims were investigated by police it came to light that they were concocted by the defendant.

“He did provide a hire agreement, however, this was from a company which is said to not exist and included the wrong VIN number.”

On the day of his trial Hindley subsequently pleaded guilty to receiving the £15,000 Touareg.

On May 2 Hindley was caught driving another stolen car – this time a black £41,000 Range Rover on false plates – on Winter Hey Lane.

After being spotted by police Hindley parked in an alleyway and went into a nearby Co-op.

“The defendant did not return to that vehicle as he knew the truth about the vehicle and its background,” said Miss Hindle.

Myles Hindley

Police examined the car, which had been stolen on April 3, 2020, and found the VIN had been partially covered with black paint but its true identity was revealed in a pay-and-display ticket still in its window.

A pizza box inside the car had Hindley’s address on it.

On May 4 Hindley, who had no licence or insurance, was seen driving another Range Rover and police followed him to his home.

Although the car was registered to Hindley it was bearing false, stuck-on, personalised number plates belonging to a different car.

“The vehicle was seized, during which the defendant came out of the property saying the vehicle was his and words to the effect of ‘well, just take the plates off then’,” said Miss Hindle.

Again, on day of trial, Hindley pleaded guilty to fraudulently using false number plates, handling the stolen Range Rover from May 2 and two counts of driving without a licence or insurance.

But Hindley did not learn his lesson and on July 2, 2020, police spotted him driving again, this time behind the wheel of a £30,000 silver Range Rover which had been stolen on May 28.

“When stopped the defendant claimed that it was a leased vehicle and that he had company insurance covering him to drive,” said Miss Hindle, who added that the information was proved to be false at his subsequent trial before magistrates and he was convicted of handling the stolen car and having no insurance.

Judge Walsh heard how Hindley has convictions for 59 previous offences, mainly of dishonesty.

Laura Broome, defending, told the court: “Mr Hindley is realistic over his fate.”

She added that, at the time he was “in a bad place” mentally and had taken up offers of the cars in order to transport his son and to get to work in Newquay.

“He accepts he knew those cars were stolen but he did not know where or how they were stolen,” said Miss Broome.

“Mr Hindley knows now that was the wrong thing to do. He describes himself as having tunnel vision at the time and never having thought about the consequences or, indeed, the people whose cars had been stolen.”