Ex-Gloucestershire fire chief accused of fraudulent bid for 4x4

Image source, Gloucestershire County Council

Image caption,

Stewart Edgar left Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue in 2018

A chief fire officer made a fraudulent bid for a £13,000 Land Rover as he wanted it for a wedding, a jury heard.

Birmingham Crown Court was told Stewart Edgar dishonestly turned down a rival £8,250 bid for the vehicle, which was part of his brigade's fleet.

Mr Edgar who left Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue in 2018 denies the charges.

The court heard that Mr Edgar told a visitor to his office that "he had always wanted a red Land Rover for his daughter's wedding".

Opening the Crown's case on Tuesday, the prosecutor, Robin Shellard, alleged that Edgar asked a firm based in Ayrshire in Scotland to lodge a £500 bid on his behalf.

Mr Shellard told the court: "He couldn't bid himself for any number of reasons - he wasn't a registered bidder and also there would be a clear conflict of interest as he was in charge of the bidding process.

"What he did was to get somebody else who was a registered bidder to bid on his behalf without telling anybody what he was doing.

"This was not all above board - he had kept what he was doing from those who should know.

"That, we say, was patently dishonest because he was both auctioneer and bidder - so Mr Edgar won the auction and he got the Land Rover for £500."

Such a low bid was under any realistic value for the "mint condition" 2003 Defender with 19,000 miles on the clock, Mr Shellard said, adding that the tyres alone were probably worth over £500.

The prosecutor added: "The Land Rover had been serviced, it had five new tyres and was very well looked after."

The court also heard the vehicle had a part-exchange value of £11,500 and a sale price of £13,000.

Edgar, of Braehead Drive, Carnoustie, Angus, denies a single count of fraud by abuse of position alleged to have been committed between April 1 and May 1, 2018.

He was appointed head of Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service in 2014 and resigned in 2018.

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