A ROBBER who went on the run before being sentenced to five years in prison told a court he had been staying at his mum’s house the entire time.

In April, Lee Wakefield failed to attend Preston Crown Court to face justice along with his three co-defendants for robbing a lorry driver at a business park of £1.3million of gaming laptops.

Martin Vosecky was attacked as he slept in his cab in Altham and forced to wear a pillow case over his head.

The victim, who speaks little English, was later stripped to his boxer shorts, bundled into the boot of a car and dumped on a track at Saddleworth, near to junction 22 of the M62, where he thought he would be killed.

His vehicle was also torched by members of the cross-border gang, who were said to be 11-strong.

Wakefield, 33, of Far Fold Lane, Leeds, and his co-defendants Lewis Knight, Steven James and Kirk Thompson all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal on February 11.

A warrant was issued for Wakefield’s arrest when he failed to attend sentencing on April 24. He was eventually arrested after six months on the run and appeared in the dock on t Burnley Crown Court on Friday and pleaded guilty to failing to surrender to custody.

The court heard that around the time of his sentencing Wakefield was dealing with some personal family issues.

Defending, Ellen Shaw said: “He buried his head in the sand. He has been living in Leeds at his mother’s address. He wasn’t actively hiding. He just didn’t hand himself in.”

Sentencing Wakefield to and extra eight weeks custody on top of his five year stretch, Judge Sara Dodd said: “This was a deliberate attempt to delay justice, if not evade it in total.”