Jail for 'manipulative' motor parts owner who stored stolen car parts in lock up near Ollerton and lied to police

Engines, doors, bonnets and other bits from six different stolen cars were discovered during a series of police raids at properties with links to Thomas Timson.

An investigation was launched and, police said, the 36-year-old made things worse for himself while this was taking place by repeatedly lying to try to discredit the case and get the seized car parts returned to him.

A lock-up in Walesby was the first property to be raided in August 2021, when police followed up intelligence suggesting stolen vehicles were being taken there to be broken down into parts and sold.

Members of Nottinghamshire Police’s Newark & Sherwood Operation Reacher team found three engines during the raid, with more parts recovered in November 2021 during raids at properties in Boughton, Kirton and Walesby.

A Ford Fiesta axle and other vehicle parts were also later recovered from another two properties in the Bevercotes and Walesby area in January 2022, both of which had links to Timson.

Timson, however, attempted to get the parts back, by repeatedly called a company used by the force to store seized items and pretending he had permission from the police to collect them.

When this failed, Timson contacted the force control room and made up a series of lies about the officers investigating his case.

Having previously denied doing anything wrong throughout the investigation, Timson, of HMP Five Wells, Wellingborough, Northamptonshire admitted two counts of handling stolen goods and perverting the course of justice on the day his trial was due to begin.

He was jailed for 16 months.

PC Poppy Macky, of Nottinghamshire Police’s Newark & Sherwood Operation Reacher team, said: “As the judge rightly said during their summary, Timson is a manipulative man whose dishonesty has shined through throughout this entire process.

“Despite our officers raiding several properties with links to him and finding a multitude of different car parts belonging to vehicles that had been reported stolen, he consistently denied doing anything wrong and kept obstructing our investigation.

“As part of this, he told a range of lies to try and get the stolen items returned to him and also made attempts to get investigating officers thrown off the case – all of which ultimately failed.

“After he chose the last available moment to drop this act and to own up to what he'd done, we’re pleased to see that Timson has now been punished for his actions and has received a custodial sentence.”

Timson, formerly of Kirton, is already serving a six-year sentence after being found guilty of four counts of engaging a 15-year-old girl in sexual activity in January. He was originally jailed for three years, before it was increased in April after being referred to the Court of Appeal under the Unduly Lenient Sentence scheme.

The court heard he had groomed his victim by buying her presents, and engaged in sexual activity with her over five to six months.