21 hours ago
Mother tried to kidnap husband in plot with lover to snatch him after late shift at work, court told
A mother and the man she was having an affair with attempted the kidnap of her own husband after he left work, a court heard today.
Lucy Leggate, 35, a mother-of-four, denies attempting to kidnap Gary Leggate almost three years ago after he finished a late shift.
She appeared in the dock alongside Daniel Algar, 41, as jurors were shown CCTV footage of a hooded figure walking near Mr Leggate's car shortly before he left work at 10pm.
The court heard that after driving away from the Reflex Labels printing plant in Swineshead, Lincolnshire, a colleague who was following Mr Leggate's Ford S-Max saw the vehicle suddenly come to a halt on the wrong side of the road.
In her statement which was read to Lincoln Crown Court this morning, the witness told how a 'masked man' then emerged from the back of the Ford and momentarily 'appeared to run after' Mr Leggate as he headed towards another vehicle, before changing direction.
The woman said she asked Mr Leggate if he was ok and he replied 'someone was in my car.'
She added: 'He (Mr Leggate) was in a right state.'
Mr Leggate said he knew it was a man called Dan from Spalding, Lincolnshire, the witness stated, and had an affair with his wife.
When police arrived at the scene at the A52 near Swineshead, they found Mr Leggate to be 'very shaken and upset', the court heard.
The jury were shown CCTV footage of a hooded figure walking near Mr Leggate's car and his lights coming on just a few minutes before he left work at 10pm.
Police found no DNA evidence which showed Algar had been in the rear of Mr Leggate's car but there were polyester fibres present which were similar to his work trousers, the jury heard.
Mobile phone records showed Algar had made two short calls to Mrs Leggate on the morning of 22 September, it is alleged.
A longer call of 42 minutes was also made by Mrs Leggate to Algar at 9.27pm on the same day, it is claimed.
Algar was arrested the following day on suspicion of attempted kidnap after police stopped his works van.
During three police interviews Algar admitted being in a relationship with Mrs Leggate, describing them as "boyfriend and girlfriend," but he denied being the man in her husband's car.
Algar told police that Mr Leggate was not happy with the things going on between himself and Mrs Leggate.
When asked if there was any plan concocted with her to cause any harm to Mr Leggate or "take him away", Algar replied: "Definitely not."
Algar said he only went out to get petrol from a Morrisons service station in Pinchbeck on the night of the alleged attempted kidnap and confirmed he had spent much of the day on the phone to Lucy.
He denied being the hooded person filmed on CCTV near Mr Leggate's work and said he had not seen him for two months.
When asked why Mr Leggate said he recognised his voice as the man in the car, Algar said it was motivated by what was going on with him and the alleged victim's wife.
Algar, of Spalding, and Leggate, of Fishtoft, Lincolnshire, both deny the attempted kidnap of Mr Leggate on 22 September 2022.
The trial continues.