BYLINE: Anthony Bond
Gravesend, Kent
Duncan Fagg stole a white Nissan Micra from a car park - but was convicted after his DNA was found on a roll-up cigarette
Bizarre: A car thief with the surname Fagg was caught when police found his DNA on a cigarette butt left in the stolen vehicle. He was jailed at Maidstone Crown Court, pictured. Getty
A car thief with the surname Fagg was caught when police found his DNA on a cigarette butt left in the stolen vehicle.
Duncan Fagg stole a white Nissan Micra from a car park in Gravesend, Kent.
Almost two weeks later, a marked police car spotted the stolen Micra. However, the driver failed to stop and continued to drive on the wrong side of the road at speed.
The car crashed into another vehicle and lost control before speeding off towards Higham and crashing into a home in April last year
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 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."
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