Two men jailed over classic Mini thefts

Two men who stole classic Minis and then sold the parts on eBay have been jailed for a total of six-and-a-half years.

Stephen Fiddimore and Sam Metten were caught after police raided six addresses in Kent and found 13 classic Minis. Even their own cars were found to be stolen and cloned. Fiddimore was sentenced to three-and-a-half years and Metten jailed for three.

Detectives believe that the pair may have been responsible for the theft of more than 40 vehicles across London, Kent and Essex between August 2014 and May 2015.

Police said the pair were able to use their specialist knowledge to gain entry to the vehicles and ‘hotwire’ the immobilisers in order to drive them away.

Detective Inspector Caroline Clooney, of the Met’s organised vehicle crime unit, said, ‘These men systematically targeted the owners of classic Minis across the south east.

‘Many of the vehicles had been lovingly restored and were the owners’ pride and joy. Discovering that their cars had been stolen obviously caused them much distress and inconvenience.’