Rare coin thief caught after going on the run

A man who was part of an elaborate plot to steal £500,000 worth of rare coins has been caught and jailed - almost a year after he was sentenced.

Clinton Brown, of Twigworth in Gloucestershire, was part of a gang who met with a coin dealer by posing as sellers of a private collection, then placed a tracker on his car to trace his address.

The group of four burgled the dealer's Northamptonshire house two weeks later while he and his wife slept upstairs, taking the coins and stabbing the man in the leg when he tried to stop their stolen getaway car.

Brown was tried in February 2025 at Gloucester Crown Court but absconded on the penultimate day of the process, and was found in Cheltenham on Sunday.

He appeared at the same court on Monday, where the seven-and-a-half year sentence given to him in his absence was confirmed.

The 44-year-old also received an additional two-months sentence for breaching his bail.

The court heard he was originally arrested after the victim of the coin burglary managed to memorise the gang's number plate, allowing Northamptonshire Police to track him down.

After he disappeared, police initially believed he had fled to Spain.

But he was found at a Cheltenham property after officers attended on an unrelated matter.

Brown initially gave a false name, but was recognised by an officer who conducted further checks to confirm his identity.

Temporary Det Insp Carrie Benbow said: "[Brown's] cowardly attempt to escape justice by fleeing overseas only served to increase his sentence.

"I hope the victim in this case will now find some peace in the knowledge that Bowen is off the streets for a long time."

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