Driver jailed over whisky theft

A Nottinghamshire lorry driver who stole whisky worth £500,000 has been jailed for a year.

Russell Dyer, 41, from Alcock Avenue in Mansfield, was supposed to take the cargo to Immingham docks in August last year, but went on the run.

When he was arrested nine months later he told police he had been hijacked by a man with a sword, Lincoln Crown Court was told.

The jury heard Dyer had carried out the theft to pay off gambling debts.

He later admitted theft, possessing identification with intent to deceive and fraud by false representation.

Dyer, a banned driver, also paid £1,200 for a forged driving licence to get a job with Lincolnshire hauliers Benton Bros.

The whisky was later recovered in Derbyshire in a police raid, the court heard.