Caravan worth £21,500 stolen from farm near Barnard Castle

A man claimed he was offered £300 to tow a stolen caravan from the North East to London, a court heard.

Police stopped a Toyota RAV4 vehicle, which was towing a caravan southbound on the A1 in North Yorkshire on December 2, 2023.

Durham Crown Court heard the stop was made because there appeared to be an irregularity in the vehicle’s number plates.

But when the vehicle was checked, a set of replacement plates, the original ones from the caravan, were found.

The 2020 Pegasus Grand Tourer was identified as having been reported stolen from a farm near Barnard Castle, where it was in winter storage, on November 30. It was said to have been bought for £28,000 new, but with depreciation, it was still valued at more than £21,000.