'A full time job': Thief who stole more than 60 cars across West Midlands is jailed

Eddie McDonagh pleaded guilty to 64 counts of theft of motor vehicles and fraud at Birmingham Crown Court on Tuesday.

The 41-year-old was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison.

McDonagh, from Kingstanding, Birmingham, travelled across the region between 2020 and 2022 in his tow truck, looking for cars to steal.

Despite using the same tow truck on each occasion, McDonagh would change the registration plate to avoid being caught.

He would lift the cars from outside the owners' addresses before placing them on his truck and driving off.

Police said he made thousands of pounds through scrapping the cars, sometimes before the owner had even realised they had gone.

Despite using the same tow truck on each occasion, McDonagh would change the registration plate to avoid being caught.

On a couple of occasions, he is said to have stolen two cars on the same day outside different addresses in Birmingham, and was seen on CCTV cameras transporting them across the city to be scrapped.

His offending began to unravel when the owner of a car he was attempting to steal in the Harborne area of the city confronted him. McDonagh punched the man and left with the vehicle.

On January 23, officers from West Midlands Police executed a warrant at McDonagh's Kingstanding home, seizing the tow truck and high vis jackets he was seen wearing on CCTV footage.

Police also discovered leaflets in the tow truck which advertised "Eddy's Cars" and "Cash for Cars".

PC Choudhury from the Vehicle Crime Taskforce, said: "McDonagh was brazen in his offending. He really thought he would continue to get away with stealing other people’s cars and profiting from it.

"This was a full time job for McDonagh, who made tens of thousands of pounds through what he was doing.

"We are committed to tackling vehicle crime and would always urge the public to get in touch if they have any information. It can really make a difference."