Crime

DVLA insider helped give dodgy cars clean identities in £1.3m fraud

Published

2 months ago

June 8, 2026

A DVLA worker who secretly altered official vehicle records to make damaged, stolen and cloned cars appear legitimate has been jailed.

Matthew Holloway used his access to DVLA systems to help Swansea car dealers and others hide the true histories of vehicles, Swansea Crown Court heard.

The fraud meant cars which should have carried warning markers could be made to look cleaner, newer or more valuable on paper.

Holloway, aged 32, of Ffordd y Mynydd, Birchgrove, Swansea, admitted conspiracy to commit fraud alongside Ashley Keith Harris, also known as Keith Wayne Lewis, aged 44, of Tawe Road, Llansamlet, and Joshua John Sawyer, aged 31, of Treharne Road, Morriston.

The offending took place between January 2021 and July 2022.

The court heard Holloway worked in a trusted DVLA role dealing with specialist registration matters.

Instead of protecting the integrity of the system, he used his position to interfere with records, including log book details, vehicle identification numbers, write-off markers and destruction certificates.

The prosecution said his actions helped conceal previous crashes, remove former keepers, and create false identities for vehicles which had been stolen, cloned or reconstructed.

Some alterations were made for Harris and Sawyer, who were involved in the motor trade in Swansea. Others were carried out for people and organisations elsewhere in the UK.

Among the vehicles affected were high-value models including an Audi, a Ferrari, a BMW, a Mercedes-AMG and a Range Rover Sport.

The Range Rover, worth around £65,000, had been stolen before being given false paperwork and sold on to an innocent buyer.

Prosecutors said the tampering increased the value of affected vehicles by around £1.29m.

The court was told Harris gained about £90,000, Sawyer about £75,000, and Holloway was paid £23,400 for making the changes. The DVLA also lost about £27,000 in unpaid fees.

Harris had previous convictions, including drug trafficking and fraud. Holloway and Sawyer had no previous convictions.

Defence barristers said Holloway was ashamed of what he had done, Sawyer had made a serious error while trying to build a car sales business, and Harris had difficult personal circumstances involving his young daughter’s health.

Judge Huw Rees said the case was organised crime and had damaged trust in a national vehicle registration system relied on by motorists, traders and police.

He said greed lay behind the offending.

Holloway was jailed for five years and three months.

Harris was sentenced to two years and eight months, while Sawyer was jailed for two years and four months.

After the sentencing, Lisa McCarthy, District Crown Prosecutor for CPS Cymru-Wales’ complex casework unit, said the defendants had worked to conceal the real status and history of vehicles.

She said Holloway had abused a trusted DVLA position for financial benefit, putting at risk the accuracy of records used across the UK.

A DVLA spokesperson said Holloway was dismissed immediately after the fraud was identified.

The agency said it had since strengthened internal controls and continued to work with police and partner organisations to tackle vehicle fraud.

Photo caption: Jailed: Matthew Holloway, Joshua Sawyer and Ashley Harris were sentenced at Swansea Crown Court (Pic: South Wales Police).

Crime

Driver sentenced for cannabis offences on Cleddau Bridge and in Wolverhampton

Published

1 day ago

July 24, 2026

Court Reporter

A WOLVERHAMPTON motorist has been disqualified from driving after admitting two separate cannabis-driving offences, including one on the Cleddau Bridge.

Doel Lyons appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (July 23), where he pleaded guilty to both charges.

The first offence took place on December 22, 2025, when Lyons drove a Honda Civic along the A477 Cleddau Bridge at Pembroke Dock.

A blood test showed seven micrograms of Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol, the main psychoactive compound in cannabis, per litre of blood.

The second offence occurred on March 30 this year, when Lyons drove the same Honda Civic along Tithe Croft in Wolverhampton with cannabis in his blood above the legal limit.

Magistrates imposed a 12-month driving disqualification for each offence and fined Lyons £233 on each charge.

He was also ordered to pay £85 in prosecution costs in relation to each conviction.

The court register does not specify whether the two periods of disqualification are to run concurrently.

Separate allegations that Lyons drove another vehicle while over the cannabis limit and without insurance in Staffordshire in September 2025 remain outstanding.

No pleas have been entered to those charges, which were adjourned for a plea hearing at Wolverhampton Magistrates’ Court on July 29.

Crime

Pembrokeshire teenager given referral order after shoplifting spree

Published

1 day ago

July 24, 2026

Court Reporter

A PEMBROKESHIRE teenager has been given a 12-month referral order after admitting a string of shop thefts and damaging a police vehicle.

The youth appeared before Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court on Thursday (July 23), where guilty pleas were entered to 11 theft offences committed between April and June.

The offences involved shops in Haverfordwest, Milford Haven and Neyland, with alcohol targeted in the majority of the incidents.

Items stolen included BuzzBall alcoholic drinks, vodka, cans of Red Bull, crisps, chewing gum and a sandwich.

The court heard that several of the thefts took place at retail parks in Haverfordwest and Milford Haven, while others occurred at stores in Neyland and Milford Haven town centre.

The individual also admitted causing £180 worth of damage to a Dyfed-Powys Police vehicle in Neyland on June 26.

Magistrates imposed a 12-month referral order, which will require the teenager to work with the Pembrokeshire Youth Offending Team and comply with a contract agreed with a youth offender panel.

Compensation totalling £336.77 was ordered in relation to the stolen property and damage to the police vehicle. The teenager’s guilty pleas were taken into account.

The court imposed reporting restrictions under the Children and Young Persons Act 1933. Nothing may be published which could identify the youth.

Crime

Murder investigation launched into death of Pembrokeshire man in 1991

Published

2 days ago

July 23, 2026

Tom Sinclair

A 67-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after new potential evidence emerged in connection with a death more than three decades ago.

Dyfed-Powys Police have launched a murder investigation into the death of 58-year-old Bentley Mathias, who died in hospital in 1991.

Mr Mathias died at Morriston Hospital on November 19, 1991, with his cause of death recorded at the time as a brain haemorrhage.

His death was not initially treated as suspicious. However, police said new potential evidence had since come to light, prompting the case to be investigated as a murder enquiry.

On Wednesday, July 22, officers arrested a 67-year-old man from the Llandewi Velfrey area of Pembrokeshire on suspicion of murder.

He has since been released on police bail while enquiries continue.

Dyfed-Powys Police said officers were not looking for anyone else in connection with the investigation.

The enquiry remains ongoing.