Nathan Blagg, 28, has been jailed for seven years and two months for a string of admitted offences, including ramming a stolen tractor into an empty Middlesbrough house linked to his rival Luke Lancaster.
CCTV captures farm theft
CCTV footage caught Blagg and two accomplices driving onto a farm near Kirklevington before making off with a Massey Ferguson tractor. With one associate tailing him in a black Land Rover fitted with cloned number plates, Blagg steered the tractor and its attached hay baler nine miles through the streets of Middlesbrough, pulling up outside a property linked to Lancaster.
At 1.30am on 9 May, the tractor was driven straight through the small front garden of a terraced house on Priory Road in Whinney Banks, ploughing directly into the living room and causing "enormous damage" to the property. The stricken tractor was left lodged dangerously close to the dividing wall of the neighbouring home.
Extended sentence imposed
The judge imposed an extended sentence, meaning Blagg will serve a further two years on licence upon his release. He admitted a catalogue of offences, including attempting to confront Lancaster after his rival drove at him in a red Audi outside probation offices in central Middlesbrough, prosecutor Jamie Wilson told the court.
On Friday, Blagg appeared composed and relaxed as he attended Teesside Crown Court via video link from Nottingham prison. His barrister Rod Hunt informed the court that a video had been posted on social media - "showing Lancaster urinating over the grave of his father and younger brother." Judge Paul Reid recognised that Blagg had been provoked, noting that he was "grossly aggrieved and rightly so" when his relatives' grave was desecrated in the spring of this year.
Impact on victims
The court was told that the living room and two bedrooms of the terraced house would require substantial repairs, the cost of which would be met by the householder's insurance company. The family had relocated the previous month, having already been targeted on prior occasions. In a statement read aloud to the court, the homeowner revealed she is currently paying for two properties, and that the family avoid disclosing their whereabouts to friends - "for fear my family or I will be violently attacked or worse."
The family had resided at their home on Priory Road for 24 years, she stated. Prior to moving out, the woman revealed she would not even switch on lights while at home, out of fear of an attack. Her husband said he "lives with the ongoing fear that something could happen again. I'm always looking over my shoulders when driving home."
Barrister Rod Hunt told the court that Blagg "didn't know precisely what the quarrel was about" between himself and Lancaster, but that being driven at "was the final straw, it would seem."
Financial toll on farmer
The financial burden and distress suffered by the farmer at Crossfield House Farm near Kirklevington was laid bare in court. He revealed he had purchased the Massey Ferguson for £30,000 several years ago — it has since been valued at £17,500 by insurers and written off entirely. The repair costs for the tractor came to £56,000, with a further £5,000-plus spent recovering the vehicle from Priory Road. In a statement to the court, the farmer disclosed he had been spending £1,000 a week on a hired replacement.
Farmer Ian Tate said: "The expense and hassle of all of this has had an immeasurable impact on me financially. I've had to pay thousands and thousands upfront. Farming is hard enough to make a living from, without all of this."
Evidence and sentencing
When Blagg was arrested several days later, his mobile phone was confiscated. Data extracted from the device confirmed he had it on him both at the farm and on Priory Road on 8 May. Blagg had also searched online for the sentencing guidelines for "causing criminal damage with intent to endanger life." His guilty plea to the lesser charge of causing criminal damage being reckless as to whether life was endangered was subsequently accepted.
The pensioner who owned the Jaguar revealed he had spent "a couple of thousand pounds to put the car right" just weeks beforehand. He had left it locked outside his home when it was stolen on 14 May. The pensioner has no means of recovering his outlay, and the Jaguar "was destroyed" in the collision. Blagg, of Addington Drive, appeared entirely unfazed as his sentence was handed down. He is no stranger to prison, having previously been convicted for possession of a machete. In 2018, he was sentenced to six and a half years in a young offenders' institution for robbery, dangerous driving, aggravated vehicle taking and a string of further offences.
Following his most recent sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Dan Cook of Middlesbrough CID said: "To steal a tractor from a farm, to then be driven at high speed towards Middlesbrough and rammed with extreme force into a house, shows the lengths Blagg will go to instil fear and violence, all without a thought or care for residents and the wider public."
"While it is lucky no one was inside that house at the time, Blagg was not aware of this or if those inside neighbouring properties were home when the tractor was rammed. The danger and significant risk it posed to neighbouring properties meant occupants had to evacuate for their safety due to the structural damage caused. It also took a number of days before the tractor could be safely and securely removed however this is at a loss to the owner of the vehicle and the occupant."
"From the evidential material gathered, we were able to put Blagg at the farm through mobile data recovered during a separate investigation. Analysis of the device placed him at the location at that time and showed the use of a flashlight. Further examination identified use of his internet history to show his interest in the sentencing guidelines and media coverage of the tractor."
"This type of criminality is often linked to serious and organised crime, which we take extremely seriously. It may be through disputes or tit-for-tat behaviour that leads to violence being orchestrated and the use of stolen and cloned plated vehicles. Our disruption of this criminality is ongoing, and we are working closely with our regional partners under Operation Sentinel to continue to tackle organised crime across Cleveland and try to prevent these crimes from happening in the first place."
"I would encourage anyone who has information to please come forward. You can do this by contacting us on 101 or visiting our website but if reticent to come forward please do call or visit Crimestoppers which can be done anonymously online or on 0800 555 111."
