A reposession agent has been jailed after he stole a 43-foot yacht from the Hamble river.
Mark Richards, 44, took Kaprina 11 from its Swanwick mooring and hit another boat within minutes of leaving the berth. Nothing was seen of the yacht until it was discovered out of the water at a boatyard in Woolston some days later.
Southampton Crown Court heard that Richards had been seen to board the yacht on three occasions and had planned to offer £25,000 to buy her, although he had been told by other owners at the boatyard it was not for sale.
On arrest, he claimed he had bought the boat from her owner, a Mr Astor, and tried to support his story with documentation, but the court heard he had never met Mr Astor and had forged documents.
