Alleged victim made up kidnap plot, court told

Daniel Algar and Lucy Leggate deny the attempted kidnapping of Mrs Leggate's husband

A man accused of attempting to kidnap the husband of his girlfriend told a jury he believed the alleged victim had made it up.

Daniel Algar, 41, from Spalding, is on trial at Lincoln Crown Court alongside Lucy Leggate, 35, from Fishtoft, near Boston.

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

Prosecutors claimed a masked Mr Algar tried to hijack Mr Leggate after hiding in his car as he left work. Mrs Leggate, a mother-of-four, chose not to enter the witness box when it was her turn to give evidence.

The jury previously heard Mr Leggate was driving home 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.

Giving evidence, Mr Algar claimed Mr Leggate plotted a "vendetta" against him because of the affair he was having with his wife.

When asked if he believed Mr Leggate had made the kidnapping up and that nothing had happened, Mr Algar replied: "Yes, I believe so."

But after being shown CCTV footage from the car park at Mr Leggate's workplace, Mr Algar accepted it did appear to show another person getting into his vehicle.

He also conceded the boots worn by the hooded figure in the car park appeared to be similar to his work boots.

But Mr Algar insisted the person shown in the footage had different facial features to him.

When asked if Mr Leggate had done a good job in finding someone to look like him, Mr Algar replied: "It would appear so."

The prosecution allege Mrs Leggate helped Mr Algar by providing a spare key fob to her husband's car and disclosing the time he left work.

The trial continues.

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