Robber who attacked pensioner on Powys driveway and stole £35k vintage Morgan car then made cruel threats pleads guilty
A 35-year-old man has pleaded guilty to robbery after he attacked a pensioner and stole his vintage car from his driveway - then phoned his victim to deliver a threatening ultimatum.
Just before midnight on Tuesday, November 18, police received a 999 call from a 79-year-old man reporting that he’d been attacked by an unknown, masked male outside his home in Rhayader, Powys at around 10.30pm that night.
Dyfed-Powys Police officers were immediately dispatched to the scene, and the caller explained how just an hour and a half earlier he’d been grabbed by his tie which was pulled tightly around his neck before the keys to his Morgan Plus 4 classic sports car were ripped from him.
The offender, now known to be Ben Owen of Oldbury, demanded the victim’s phone number and said he would call about 30 minutes later before speeding off in the £35,000 classic car.
A short while later, Owen called the victim and presented him with two choices: either the car would be stripped and sold for spares, or the owner could buy it back from him.
It was at this point that the victim phoned 999 to make the report.
Specialist units including roads policing and the dog unit were deployed to track down the suspect and the stolen car.
At around 3.30am, the vehicle was spotted having been abandoned on a driveway in the nearby village of St Harmon.
Officers continued their search on foot to locate the suspect when they noticed a "shadowy figure" lying down under a tree.
PC Edwards called out for the person to remain where they were, but instead, he leapt to his feet and jumped over a garden fence and into a field.
Chasing after him on foot, PC Edwards continued to warn the suspect to stop running and surrender himself.
With Owen refusing to give himself up, the officer tackled him to the ground, before arresting him on suspicion of robbery and taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent.
Following a search of his person, Owen was further arrested for possession of class A and class B drugs.
Owen was charged with all four offences, and on Friday (December 19) pleaded guilty to all four at Mold Crown Court.
The stolen vehicle was seized for forensic examination before being returned to its rightful owner.
A second man, aged 55, was arrested in connection with the incident but was released with no further action being taken against him.
Owen is due to be sentenced at Mold Crown Court on January 29, 2026.
DS Adam Clark, who supervised the case, said: “This was a traumatic incident for both the victim and his family. Our officers take a robust approach to travelling criminals and will not tolerate such thuggish behaviour in our area.
"Due to the proactive response by Dyfed-Powys Police, and the weight of the evidence against him, Ben Owen has pleaded guilty - bringing justice to the victim in this case.”
