JUSTICE finally caught up with a serial caravan thief who targeted a business with a gang and went on the run for four years.

Michael McDonagh was jailed at Cardiff Crown Court after he raided the Ifton Crest caravan storage facility in Caerwent, Monmouthshire, in September 2013.

Prosecutor Leah Pollard said he and two unknown accomplices stole a Fiat motorhome as well as caravan equipment and items with a combined value of more than £40,000 during the early morning break-in.

Ifton Crest’s owners also had their Nissan 4x4 written-off when irreparable damage was done to its ignition at a cost of £2,500.

Police caught McDonagh after they found his DNA at the scene.

After being charged and appearing before magistrates and bailed in 2014, McDonagh fled before he was arrested last month.

The 37-year-old defendant, of Rhine Close, Caversham, Reading, pleaded guilty to eight counts of theft, one of taking a vehicle without consent and failing to surrender.

Miss Pollard said that since the raid, the owners have upgraded their security, including the installation of CCTV cameras, at a cost of £3,000.

The court heard that McDonagh had 15 previous convictions for 26 offences, including theft offences involving caravans.

Francis Jones, mitigating, said his client had suffered a family tragedy with the loss of his sister whom he was very close to.

His barrister added that since committing these offences, the defendant had turned his life around and was working.

Mr Jones said McDonagh was now providing for his own children as well as those of his sister who had been orphaned by her death.

The Recorder of Cardiff, Judge Eleri Rees, told the defendant: “You buried your head in the sand hoping this would disappear but it has caught up with you.”

Adding that he had “a record of significance”, she jailed him for a total of 18 months and ordered him to pay a victim surcharge upon his release from custody.