Jacksdale man caught transporting £60,000 of stolen forklift trucks

Jo Fields was stopped by police while towing a trailer using his dad's vehicle and fitted with a pal's number plates after a member of the public became suspicious on Pye Hill Road, on December 20, 2021, Nottingham Crown Court was told.

The three trucks had been stolen from Peakdale Quarry in Somercotes, Derbyshire, when thieves removed a fence panel, but were later recovered.

The prosecutor said it was a sophisticated crime, as the false plates were intended to “deliberately deceive”, which carries up to four years in prison.

The court heard Fields “turned a blind eye” to the origin of the trucks but has stayed out of trouble since January 2015 when he was convicted of taking without the owner's consent.

Gareth Gimson, mitigating, said although the custodial threshold had been crossed “it need not be immediate custody”.

“These matters are stale,” he said. “He pleaded guilty in the lower court. There is nothing on his antecedent record for many years and there has been nothing new since. He is capable of rehabilitation.”

He said Fields' plastering business would suffer if he was jailed and this would affect his brother.

“When working he is able to live with little debt and has stable accommodation,” Mr Gimson said. “He is a prime candidate for a suspended sentence with unpaid work.”

Fields, now aged 35, of St Mary’s Walk, Jacksdale, admitted using a fraudulent registration mark, handling stolen goods and driving with no insurance, at a previous hearing.

On Tuesday, Recorder Penelope Stanistreet told him: “You fear reprisals from the people you bought the trucks from. It goes without saying you should choose your friends more carefully in future.

"I am told you have no intention of finding yourself in this position again.”

She handed him a 12 month sentence, suspended for 12 months, with 150 hours of unpaid work.

He was fined £300 and ordered to pay a surcharge with £180 costs. His licence was endorsed with eight penalty points.