A PLANT hire dealer from Burnley who tried to sell on a stolen digger, worth £35,000, has been ordered to pay compensation by a crown court judge.

Max Wynn, 26, had originally claimed he had no idea the Takeuchi excavator was not legitimate when he bought it online for £23,500, the town’s crown court was told.

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But investigators acting on behalf of the Japanese manufacturer tracked down the digger after it had been stolen from a building site in Leeds and the company boss was arrested.

Wynn, of Inchfield, Worsthorne, admitted handling stolen goods and he was given a six-month prison sentence, suspended for two years. Judge Andrew Woolman also ordered him to pay £1,088 to the Yorkshire-based SCD Group, which had hired the digger, and find £400 in costs and an £80 victim surcharge.

Prosecutor Mark Lamberty said the equipment had been hired by the SCD Group from Buckhurst Plant Hire, based in Waterfoot, and it was stolen between July 16 and 17, 2013.

An inquiry by Takeuchi officials found that the digger had been hired out in early October, the same year. An examination of plates on the vehicle found them to be false and the police were notified.

Interviewed after his arrest, Wynn told officers that he sold plant machinery and had become aware of the digger being advertised for sale from a rural address near Bradford.

He initially claimed he had notified the Japanese firm and was convinced it was genuine, before he handed over £23,500 and took delivery of it.

Mr Lamberty added: “He has recognised since then that this was a dishonest transaction.”

The court heard an additional compensation claim was made for damage which was said to have been done to the digger.

Philip Holden, mitigating, said: “The defendant says that the digger was recovered in the same condition that he received it.”

Judge Woolman said it was not possible to establish that the defendant had damaged the digger.