Kidnap accused denies being masked man in car

Daniel Algar and Lucy Leggate are on trial at Lincoln Crown Court

A man accused of attempting to kidnap his girlfriend's husband has denied wearing a mask and hiding in the man's car, a jury heard.

Daniel Algar, 41, from Spalding, is on trial alongside Lucy Leggate, 35, a mother-of-four from Fishtoft, near Boston.

They both deny attempting to kidnap Mrs Leggate's husband, Gary Leggate on 22 September 2022.

Lincoln Crown Court heard Mr Leggate was driving home from work when a "masked man" appeared in the back seat of his vehicle.

A witness described how the car stopped suddenly on the wrong side of the road before Mr Leggate and a man wearing a mask both got out of the vehicle.

The man "appeared to run after" Mr Leggate before changing direction, the court was told.

The prosecution allege Mr Algar was the hooded figure who was spotted on CCTV walking towards Mr Leggate's car just a few minutes before he left his place of work.

When arrested the next day he admitted being in a relationship with Mrs Leggate, but denied being the masked man caught on camera or being in the car.

He told police he was unaware of anything happening to Mr Leggate on 22 September and insisted he was not in the area on that date.

He claimed he had only left the house on that day to get petrol from a supermarket and had spent much of the day on the phone to Mrs Leggate.

When asked if there was any plan with Mrs Leggate to cause her husband harm or to "take him away" he replied: "Definitely not."

When detectives asked why Mr Leggate said he recognised his voice as the man in the car Mr Algar said it was motivated by what was going on with him and Mrs Leggate.

The trial continues.

Listen to highlights from Lincolnshire on BBC Sounds, watch the latest episode of Look North or tell us about a story you think we should be covering here.

Download the BBC News app from the App Store for iPhone and iPad or Google Play for Android devices.