A driver who reported a van as stolen - after crashing into a field near Ashby - has pleaded guilty to perverting the course of justice.

Adam Wileman contacted Derbyshire Constabulary a little after 7pm on Sunday August 13, last year, explaining that a Ford Transit Connect, that he had hired, had been stolen during a burglary at his home in West Street, Swadlincote.

Officers quickly began to realise that Wileman's story did not add up - and officers become aware of a collision that had occurred in the early hours of Sunday morning in Moira Road, just outside Ashby.

A driver, who had found two men and two women climbing out of a van that had left the road and ended up on its side in a field, had called 999, but before the emergency services could arrive the four flagged down a passing taxi and left the scene.

With officers becoming increasingly sure that all was not as Wileman was reporting they reviewed the Transit's tracker.

Derbyshire Constabulary reports that, on the Friday evening, it showed the van close to a friend of Wileman's in Swadlincote – before driving on to Ashby.

The group were drinking in a bar in Ashby before the crash. Photo: Ashby Nub News

Wileman, a friend and two women were then seen on CCTV in Ashby town centre, after drinking in a bar.

They were tracked on CCTV where shortly after they disappeared out of view near to where the van is parked, the van drives out and off towards Moira Road.

After crashing the van, Wileman and the three others got into the taxi that dropped the four of them off in Hartshorne.

Meanwhile, officers from Leicestershire Police attended the scene of the collision and found paperwork that linked the van back to Wileman.

The van was recovered and found to have suffered £20,000 worth of damage and had to be written off.

Officers spoke to Wileman as they investigated the alleged burglary – with the 38-year-old giving different accounts each time as to where the keys were stolen from and, after the CCTV of Wileman in Ashby is discovered, he was arrested on suspicion of attempting to pervert the course of justice.

Image: Dreamstime.com

Wileman was subsequently charged with one count of attempting to pervert the course of justice and, after appearing at Derby Crown Court on February 8 and pleading guilty, he was handed an eight-month jail sentence suspended for two years.

Sergeant Mark Ryan, said: "Adam Wileman knew full well what he had done – but instead of making a sensible, adult decision, he decided to try and spin a very poor story.

"We quickly realised that the story he was telling did not add up - and after the links to the collision near Ashby, his paper-thin lies fell apart.

"The damage he caused to the van has left a local business picking up the bill to the tune of thousands of pounds – all because of Wileman's woeful decision making.

"This kind of offence is, thankfully, unusual but the impact is very real.

"The time and effort spent by officers attending the initial burglary – and then having to uncover his lies – could have been put to far better use.

"This has been an expensive lesson for Wileman, and I hope that it shows others that, as is so often the case, honesty is the best policy."