Published date: 03 February 2017 |
Published by: Jamie BowmanRead more articles by Jamie Bowman Email reporter
A gamekeeper who paid £8,000 in cash for two quad bikes has denied knowing they were stolen.
Andrew John Hughes, 45, of Middle Mill Road in Northop was charged with handling two stolen Kawasaki bikes after police raided The Granary on the Soughton estate in March last year.
Hughes, who hosts shooting parties and corporate entertainment across three estates in the area, appeared before Mold Crown Court yesterday, where he denied the two charges.
James Coutts, prosecuting, told the court that two officers visited The Granary at 5.20pm on March 23, 2016, where they executed a search warrant and seized two quad bikes.
Both bikes had been stolen in 2014 from two separate addresses in Essex and were valued by their owners as being worth £12,000 each. They were identified using the standardised 17- character Vehicle Identification Number.
Mr Coutts described how Hughes told police that a man he had never met before had visited the estate offering to sell him some tools and inquiring if there was any work he could do around the farm.
Hughes had declined but two weeks later the man had returned and he had agreed to buy a number of spanners and screw tips from him before being told that he was also selling a quad bike.
The gamekeeper had initially said he wasn’t interested but the man had offered him a week’s test drive for free and he had accepted.
Hughes had the bike checked out by a friend who said it was in good working order and a week later the man returned in a van with another man, who Hughes was told was the owner of the bike and was from Anglesey where he worked in plant hire.
Another identical bike, also said to belong to the Anglesey man, was also for sale and Hughes agreed to buy both of them for £8,000 cash despite there being no papers or receipts accompanying the vehicles.
Appearing as a witness for the prosecution, PC Thomas Brownhill, told the court that Hughes had been “relatively polite but was shocked at our presence”.
He said the defendant’s attitude changed when his partner arrived at the scene and he was heard to say to her that “someone’s grassed me up”.
Hughes, a father of two, explained that a disgruntled former employee had been targeting his business and was heard to say “I can’t believe someone would stoop so low as to call the police”.
In his interview with officers, Hughes said the two men were “very friendly” and “well dressed” and that he felt comfortable everything was above board.
“The guy was convincing and made me feel at ease,” he said.
“The older guy was dressed like a country gentleman.”
Hughes told officers he had an annual turnover of £700,000 to £800,000 and paid the men cash which he had in his safe.
He explained that he was tipped a lot by his clients in cash and used this money to pay for casual labour and holidays for his family.
Customers to Soughton Estate were entertained for the whole day with breakfast and a function room as well as pheasant shooting and it was customary for him to be tipped in cash if visitors had a good day’s shoot.
Under questioning, Hughes revealed he leased around 6,000 acres in total across the Soughton, Nannarch and Pentre Hobyn estates and used three Land Rovers to get around the land.
He said he found the quad bike very useful during the week’s test drive.
“He was totally cool about it and I used it on the farm for ten days,” said Hughes, who said he employed up to 25 staff seasonally.
“It ticked all the right boxes and it really helped us.
“All the staff used them and I paid £8,000 after a bit of haggling as they wanted £10,000.
“My business is a cash industry.”
Hughes went on to explain that he though it was “a good deal” but “not to the extent that is was ridiculous – who doesn’t want a good deal?”
When asked by Mr Couttes if anyone had suggested to him that the bikes might be stolen, Hughes replied, “no.”
“I thought I had what I thought was a good deal,” he added before denying it was “common knowledge” on the farm that the bikes were stolen.
Diana Ellis QC, called a number of high profile character witnesses to speak in defence of her client.
Cheshire businessman Martin Beaumont, who was, until October 2007, the chief executive of the Co-operative group and a is a former High Sheriff of Cheshire said he had known Hughes for 25 years.
“I’ve found him a very good person to associate with and he is charming, helpful and enthusiastic,” he said.
“I would regard him as totally honest and I am astonished by the charges.”
High Sheriff of Merseyside, James Davies, said he had enjoyed shooting with Hughes for more than 10 years and he had helped him raise £3,000 for footballer Steven Gerrard’s testimonial.
He added: “He is a man of probity and has done nothing to make me believe he could commit an offence of this type.”
http://www.leaderlive.co.uk/news/172066/gamekeeper-who-paid-8-000-for-two-quad-bikes-denies-knowing-they-were-stolen.aspx
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