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A man who was stranded in south Warwickshire in the middle of the night wandered in to Aston Martin’s headquarters and drove off in a £200,000 supercar – which has now been written off.

By a bizarre coincidence, that night saw a glitch in the prestige car manufacturer’s security system which allowed Jason Boon to simply walk into the premises and then drive out in a top-of-the-range DB11.

But Boon, 45, of Mill Crescent, Southam, escaped being jailed after the judge said he was satisfied his actions had been impulsive rather than a planned raid on the premises.

He was sentenced to 10 months in prison suspended for two years after pleading guilty to burgling the Aston Martin works at Gaydon, aggravated vehicle taking and having no insurance.

Unemployed Boon was also banned from driving for a year and ordered to pay £200 costs.

(Image: Paul Beard)

What did the prosecution say?

Prosecutor Ian Windridge said that at the close of business on May 5, an Aston Martin DB11 worth £200,000 was among the cars secure in the company’s headquarters at Gaydon.

“At shortly before 5.40am the next morning the police were alerted to a situation where an Aston Martin was being driven up and down Mill Crescent in Southam,” he said.

“They went there and found the car, which had no registration number, and a police dog tracked Mr Boon to a nearby house.

“He had the key to that car, some Aston Martin paperwork and a key fob relating to another Aston Martin.”

Those items had been stolen from an office during a burglary at the prestige car firm’s factory.

When he was questioned, Boon said he had been out with two friends who had abandoned him following an argument.

(Image: @WarksPolice)

He said he found his way to the factory compound and found it was full of Aston Martins, so went into the office, got the keys and began to drive one of them around.

Boon added that he was then surprised when the gate opened and he was able to drive out – so he did so and drove home.

Mr Windridge pointed out: “It would seem that, by an unfortunate coincidence, Aston Martin had some difficulties that night with its security system which kept cutting out, with doors opening randomly – and at the time he was driving round, the system failed and the door opened.”

The stolen DB11 suffered scuff marks and wheel rim damage by the time it was recovered – which the company says means it will have to be written off because it cannot be sold as new and, with no registered keeper, cannot be sold as a used vehicle.

What did the defence say?

Paul O’Keeffe, defending, said: “You have heard what Mr Boon told the police on his arrest.

“He was out with friends and they had a disagreement, and he was kicked out of the car.

“He didn’t know where he was, so walked to higher ground to get his bearings. He saw lights in the distance and walked towards them, and it happened to be the Aston Martin factory.”

Mr O’Keeffe said that Boon took the car keys and paperwork from the office as “trophies”, but then started up one of the cars and subsequently left in it.

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Mr O’Keeffe said Boon had lived for some years in America, where he has two children, but then returned and his estranged wife in America was making it difficult for him to have contact with the children.

“He was feeling in a very low place at the time,” said Mr O’Keeffe. “Once he found himself in the Aston Martin factory with no-one about, it was, as he put it, ‘one hundred per cent heaven’.”

What did the judge say?

Sentencing Boon, Recorder Alastair Smith told him: “The facts of this case are highly unusual.

“Having been left by some friends following an argument, you walked towards some buildings.

“These, it transpired, were the Aston Martin factory where, due to an error in their security system, the doors were opening independently.

“You were able to go inside to an area where cars were being given final adjustments before sale. There was no-one around and the keys were readily accessible.

“You drove one of the vehicles around and the doors of the warehouse opened, allowing you to drive out of the factory and out of the compound.

“Had I come to the view that this was a targeted operation to steal a valuable vehicle, you would have been facing a substantial custodial sentence.

“But your actions were impulsive in a unique set of circumstances.”