A man robbed an elderly man of his £35,000 vintage car before phoning him up and offering him two choices. Ben Owen, 35, was charged with robbery, taking a vehicle without the owner’s consent and possession of Class A and Class B drugs after the incident, which took place in Powys in November 2025.
He pleaded guilty to all four charges and on Thursday was jailed for 16 months. Describing the impact of the attack, the victim said: “It would be a lie to say this incident has not shaken me up. This is a safe area, nothing like that happens here and it’s come as a total and utter surprise to myself and my neighbours.
“I don’t feel safe in my own home anymore and have considering moving, but that would be running away from my problems.”
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 evening. Don’t miss a court report by signing up to our crime newsletter here
With officers immediately dispatched to the scene, the caller explained how 90 minutes 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, Ben Owen, of Oldbury in the West Midlands, demanded the victim’s phone number and said he’d call in about 30 minutes 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 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. An officer, 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, Owen was further arrested for possession of Class A and Class B drugs.
The 35-year-old was charged with all four offences, which he admitted to on Friday, December 19 at Mold Crown Court. The stolen vehicle was seized for forensic examination before being returned to its rightful owner. On Thursday Owen was sentenced to 16 months in prison.
As part of his impact statement, the victim addressed his attacker directly saying that, despite being “somewhat traumatised” by the incident, he bore no personal animosity towards him. The victim ended his statement by telling Owen: “I hope your future improves.”
DS Adam Clark, the Dyfed-Powys Police officer supervising this case, said: “We welcome the sentencing of Ben Owen today, and hope that this serves as a reminder that we will do all we can to bring offenders to justice.
“Mid Wales is a beautiful place to live, and local residents deserve to feel safe as they go about their daily lives. Today’s outcome serves as a warning to anyone seeking cause harm in our communities that they will be caught.”
Get daily breaking news updates on your phone by joining our WhatsApp community here. We occasionally treat members to special offers, promotions and ads from us and our partners. See our Privacy Notice