Fagg captured by DNA on cigarette

A CAR THIEF with the surname Fagg was caught when police found his DNA on a cigarette butt left in the stolen vehicle in Kent.

Duncan Fagg, who was using crutches at the time, was captured driving a stolen white Nissan Micra on CCTV from a car park in Gravesend in April last year, police said.

Almost two weeks later, a marked police car spotted the stolen Micra heading towards Hoo on the A228.

The driver failed to stop and continued to drive on the wrong side of the road at a speed of around 50mph in a 30mph zone, a Kent Police spokesman said.

The car crashed into another vehicle and lost control before speeding off towards Higham and crashing into a property in Crutches Lane.

The property's owner saw a man walking away from the car and officers arrested 36-year-old Fagg, who was seen walking on crutches, on a nearby farm.

Detectives were able to place Fagg in the stolen car after his DNA was found on a roll-up cigarette which had been smoked in the vehicle.

Fagg, of St Matthews Way in Allhallows, Rochester, pleaded guilty to dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and theft of motor vehicle and was jailed for 18 months and banned from driving for three years at Maidstone Crown Court on January 24.

Detective Constable Roger Harris, from Kent Police, said: "After failing to stop for police when given every opportunity to do so, Fagg embarked on a reckless campaign to do everything he could to avoid capture.

"He drove dangerously, often on the wrong side of the road and also overtook other motorists on roundabouts, which tells me he gave absolutely no consideration to other road users.

"But for the quick thinking of one motorist who was forced to move to the side of the road to avoid the speeding stolen vehicle, this could have been a more serious incident with severe consequences.

"After catching up with him shortly after, we were able to use forensic techniques to match a roll-up that Fagg had been smoking in the stolen Micra with his DNA to prove he had been in the car."

By Press Association reporters