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James Bond dream led to deceit

Conman Robert Hendy-Freegard was today cleared on appeal of kidnapping by fraud. Deborah Collins reports on an extraordinary tale of deceit, cruelty and dishonesty.

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To regulars at a Shropshire market town pub, Robert Hendy-Freegard seemed like just an average barman.
To regulars at a Shropshire market town pub, Robert Hendy-Freegard seemed like just an average barman.

Little did they realise that the young man pulling pints behind the bar at the Swan Inn, in Newport, was dreaming of being James Bond.

And he was about to embark on a decade of calculated deceit, cruelty and dishonesty - leading to one of the most incredible and bizarre stories to come before a British court.

The barman and car salesman, a consummate and accomplished liar, was able to convince a string of victims that he was an MI5 spy.

It is estimated he took up to £1 million from his victims and their families so he could live his fantasy 007 lifestyle.

None of the money is left today.

He was born Robert Freegard in the Kilton district of Worksop, Nottinghamshire, but later changed his name by deed poll, adopting the name of one of his victims to become Hendy-Freegard.

He left school at 15 with no qualifications and signed up for a joiner's YTS scheme at college before working for a construction company. He left in 1992 after taking a City & Guilds course in carpentry.

It was his relationship with a young teacher Alison Williams that led him to Shropshire. He had borrowed £1,500 from his girlfriend, but then stole cash from Miss Williams's bank account to repay the loan.

He escaped going to prison when convicted of theft, but had also been accused of plotting to kidnap her. The charge was left to lie on file by the crown court. By 1993 Miss Williams had fled to Newport where she worked as a primary school teacher.

But Hendy-Freegard followed her and found work as a barman at the Swan Inn. He was already claiming to be working part-time for MI5, but was laughed at by workmates who said that with his carpentry background he was more likely to get a job with MFI.
But Hendy-Freegard followed her and found work as a barman at the Swan Inn. He was already claiming to be working part-time for MI5, but was laughed at by workmates who said that with his carpentry background he was more likely to get a job with MFI.

The bar at The Swan was a haunt for students at Harper Adams Agricultural College including his first three victims - John Atkinson, Maria Hendy and Sarah Smith.

They all fell for his undercover spy story in which he claimed to be trying to infiltrate an IRA cell at the college. His fantasy was given more credence at the time by reports of suspected IRA terrorist Kevin O'Donnell, who had been a student at the college.

O'Donnell, who had been a prime suspect for the IRA bomb attack at Clive Barracks at Tern Hill in 1989, was killed in a shootout with the SAS in Northern Ireland in 1992.

Hendy-Freegard continued to play out his fantasy and found the trio of students actually believed him and agreed to go on the run with him.
Hendy-Freegard continued to play out his fantasy and found the trio of students actually believed him and agreed to go on the run with him.

He was fortunate enough to have Bond-like bedroom skills and was always immaculately dressed. He also drove an Aston Martin and wore the Omega Seamaster watch featured on the wrist of Pierce Brosnan and was said to have spent £250,000 on cars.

While his dupes were starving in squalor, Hendy-Freegard was jetting first class around the world, staying at five star hotels and dining at top restaurants. He ruthlessly exploited seven lovers.
While his dupes were starving in squalor, Hendy-Freegard was jetting first class around the world, staying at five star hotels and dining at top restaurants. He ruthlessly exploited seven lovers.

Maria Hendy was to have two children by him and was abandoned in a flat in Sheffield while Hendy-Freegard was engaged to two other women at the same time.

Another victim Elizabeth Richardson survived by drinking water from a toilet and slicing a weekly Mars into a portion for every day of the week.

Barrister Caroline Cowper was fleeced out of thousands of pounds when she fell in love with Hendy-Freegard whom she agreed to marry. She met him in 2001.
Barrister Caroline Cowper was fleeced out of thousands of pounds when she fell in love with Hendy-Freegard whom she agreed to marry. She met him in 2001.

* Hendy-Freegard was today cleared on charges of kidnapping by fraud. He could now be released from prison by the end of this year.

The Court of Appeal quashed Hendy-Freegard's conviction for two offences relating to allegations that two of his victims were effectively deprived of their liberty by his deception and brainwashing.

By Deborah Collins