A CAR dealer who dumped money cages from the Securitas depot shortly after the £53 million Tonbridge robbery knew nothing about the heist before it happened, a court heard.

At the Old Bailey, Alexander Cameron QC, defending John Fowler, said being involved with items connected to the robbery after it happened did not make him guilty of conspiracy to commit the crime.

Mr Cameron once again questioned evidence naming Elderden Farm, Staplehurst, near Maidstone, owned by Fowler, as the place where depot manager Colin Dixon, his wife and their child were held after being kidnapped by fake police officers, and as the place where the gang divided up the money after making their getaway.

He described this theory as the "weak link" in the prosecution's case.

Mr Cameron asked the jury to consider the mileage of a white van used in the robbery, which was hired by Fowler.

He said the van was driven for 233 miles from the point it left the hire company to when it was returned.

Mr Cameron told the court he had calculated the mileage of various journeys the prosecution say the van made, and he made it anything up to 108 miles less.

This, he said, combined with evidence presented earlier was: "Another indicator that Elderden Farm is not where the "flop" was divided up or the holding place."

He ridiculed the idea that the van could have been driven randomly around the countryside and said this fact was "another indicator that Elderden Farm is not where the "flop" was divided up or the holding place."

Mr Cameron suggested that evidence given by Lynn Dixon claiming Elderden Farm was the place where she was held, was flawed because of differences between her description of the place where she was held and Elderden Farm.

Lea Rusha, of Lambersart Close, Southborough; Stuart Royle, of Allen Street, Maidstone; Jetmir Bucpapa, of Hadlow Road, Tonbridge; Roger Coutts, of The Green, Welling; John Fowler, 62, of Chart Hill Road, Staplehurst; and Emir Hysenaj, of New Road, Crowborough, have all pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to kidnap, conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to have in their possession a firearm.

Hairdresser Michelle Hogg, 32, of Brinklow Crescent, Woolwich, southeast London, has been cleared of all three charges after the prosecution offered no evidence.

A seventh man, Keith Borer, from Hampstead Lane, Yalding, stands accused of dishonestly receiving £6,100 of stolen Securitas money, which he denies.

The case continues.