Man who sold stolen items like Del Boy is sent to jail

4:10pm Tuesday 27th October 2009

By Laura Smith

A DEL BOY character has been jailed after selling life-saving equipment from Leigh fire station on the internet.

Mark Lotter, 44, sold stolen industrial equipment and tools to make £15,000 via the Ebay internet auction site.

He brazenly called his company Lotter’s Independent Traders, mimicking the business in the hit sitcom Only Fools and Horses, which starrred David Jason.

But Lotter’s 14-month scam came to light after hydraulic cutting equipment belonging to Essex County Fire & Rescue Service was spotted on the site.

The equipment is used by firefighters to free people trapped in cars at road accidents. The goods have since been recovered.

Lotter appeared at Snaresbrook Crown Court where he and his wife, Tracey Lotter, pleaded guilty to transferring criminal property.

He further admitted three charges of possessing an offensive weapon. This relates to two CS gas canisters and a mace spray which were found at his home.

Judge Simon Wilkinson sentenced Mark Lotter to three-and-a-half years in prison, but gave his 35-year-old wife a 12 month prison sentence supended for two years, 150 hours’ unpaid work, and a two-year supervision order.

Lotter, of Lodge Avenue, Dagenham, had stored the stolen goods at his house and in lockup storage units off the A13 in Dagenham.

Police recovered thousands of pounds worth of property, including mini diggers, drills, chainsaws, nail guns and hedge trimmers from Lotter’s home. Officers later held an open day at Eastbury Comp-rehensive School, in Hulse Avenue, Barking, where rightful owners could reclaim their property.

One victim, Adrian Mitchell, of Costain Construction, was reunited with surveying equipment worth more than £8,000.

Essex’s Assistant Chief Fire Officer Gordon Hunter, Director of Operations, said: “We are glad that Lotter is now behind bars.

“He was selling vital life-saving equipment which he knew had been stolen from a fire service.

“We hope this sentence will discourage others from breaking into fire stations and stealing the tools we use to save lives.”

Det Chf Insp Ellie O’Connor, of the Metropolitan Police, said: “We are delighted with the sentences handed down.

“Individuals who choose to handle stolen goods are enabling the crime of theft and are as guilty as the thief.

“I will continue to use all of my available resources in order to catch burglars and stolen property handlers and place them before the courts.”