A former decorated police sergeant who lost everything after falling for a Kent criminal online has shared her story as part of a podcast series.

Jill Owens, then Evans, from Wales, had worked her way up to become a respected and decorated member of Dyfed-Powys police when she met Dean Jenkins on an online dating site in the early 2000s.

A two-time divorcee, who had two daughters at the time, said she could hardly believe her luck when she matched with "charming" Jenkins, who was from Rainham.

A whirlwind romance ensued, but when she was four months pregnant with his child, their seemingly perfect love story came crashing to a halt.

On November 1, 2006, she received a call telling her Jenkins had been arrested the previous day as the getaway driver of a robbery gang.

Targeting five building societies in Herne Bay, Paddock Wood, Birchington, Strood and New Romney, the gang stole £339,000 from Group 4 Securicor guards but their spree was thwarted when police marksmen gunned down 41-year-old Robert Haines, of Challock.

It was the moment that led to Ms Owens' life crumbling before her eyes. She was forced to resign from the force, leaving her career and reputation in tatters.

Now, as part of a podcast series by Wondery and Novel called Stolen Hearts, the 54-year-old looked back on the impact it had on her life, saying: “I had no idea when I hit that send button where my life would head.

“Talking about it still brings tears to my eyes because I will never be able to fully shake the devastation it caused to my life.

“When it happened it was like a bomb went off, destroying everything I had ever known.

“I was a police sergeant. I did not think I’d ever start talking with an armed robber. What are the chances of that?

Jenkins was described as a charismatic, self-made businessman who had made a name for himself selling male grooming products.

With products such as a toiletries range called ‘the Guvnor’ being stocked in Superdrug and enjoying expensive meals with representatives from TV shopping channel QVC, Jenkins appeared to be the perfect man for Jill.

After enjoying their first date at a pub in Cardiff, the couple began to meet every other weekend and Jenkins soon surprised her with a holiday to Italy to go to a beauty trade show.

Describing herself as “starstruck” by the VIP lifestyle that Jenkins lived, Owens said she was totally unaware of his double life.

“I wasn’t sheltered but I was from a small town by the seaside and I was not used to this kind of big city life,” she said.

“I mean one minute I was searching for a lost cat and the next minute I'm sitting with QVC. I was a bit starstruck by it all.

“I went to his place of work, I saw his distribution warehouse and met George [Jenkins' business partner]. I met his mother, his sister, his gran.

“There was nothing suspicious to see from what I witnessed.”

After that fateful day in 2006, her life was thrown into turmoil as teams from Kent Police interviewed her about her knowledge of Jenkins.

The heists, which also involved Jenkins' dad David, a former special constable and an ex-Securicor guard, saw Jenkins given a 17-year sentence for his involvement.

She was then subjected to an investigation by the professional standards of her own force, and subsequently claims she was treated unfairly.

She said: “It was a huge shock, I was 16 weeks pregnant, and my whole life had been turned upside down. There was no consideration at all for that.

“I lost my two daughters for a number of years, my parents, I no longer speak to my brother. I was very much on my own.

“Every time I was interviewed by Dyfed-Powys it would be by men, often two or three senior officers at the same time. It was like a gang approach, and I was vulnerable.

“They told me I should have known because the names of two of his shower gels were ‘Beat the Filth’ and ‘It’s a Stick Up’.

“Even when I look back and ask myself was there anything I could have picked up on, there is absolutely nothing.

“Everything seemed to add up to what he said he was, a successful businessman."

Having joined Dyfed-Powys police in 1990, her career at the force came to an acrimonious end after she was “required to resign” in late 2008.

Visiting Jenkins in prison, Jill says she never got the answers she wanted from him, but producers interviewed Jenkins for the podcast and his response left her surprised.

"When it happened it was like a bomb went off, destroying everything I had ever known..."

“I’ve always thought that there were two possible reasons he was with me,” began Ms Owens.

“Either it was the thrill of playing with the danger of dating a police officer, or he genuinely had feelings for me.

“If he had genuine feelings for me then the kindest thing would have been to walk away.

“I can’t say too much but what he says in the last episode really made me sit back.

“I could finally see what I couldn’t see for a such a long time.”

Before taking part in the podcast, Jill released a book about her experience called Two Cops And A Robber in April 2020, saying getting her side across is cathartic.

As well as writing, she runs her own property management company.

She is also the deputy mayor of Haverfordwest in Pembrokeshire, Wales, and is due to become mayor in April.

Now living with son Frankie and husband Rod, she says: “It’s been a long road to recovery, but I don’t blame myself any more.

“The police said I was lacking in honesty and integrity - that really cut deep because it’s not true at all.

“Now I’m going to be mayor of the town and that feels like a small victory.”

Speaking about her relationship with new husband Rod, who she met in 2012 on the day Wales won the rugby Six Nations Grand Slam, she says giving up on love wasn’t an option.

“I could have turned around and said that’s it, I’m not getting involved with men ever again. I don’t trust them. But that’s not me,” she said.

“There are nice men, women, whatever gender, out there looking for love and it’s so easy to listen to bad stories as opposed to the positive and good ones.”

Stolen Hearts, the podcast from Wondery and Novel, is available on all podcast services.