Ryan Barry Mather found with stolen coffee van in his backyard

A boat builder says he paid $1000 for a caravan he did not know had been stolen.

A boat builder says he paid $1000 for a caravan he did not know had been stolen.

Ryan Barry Mather told police he had planned to turn the $30,000 van into a salon for his partner.

Mather, 35, pleaded guilty in the Southport Magistrates Court on Monday to receiving tainted property and wilful damage.

Ryan Barry Mather at Southport Magistrates Court.

Police prosecutor Sergeant Nicole Conditsis said the retro caravan, registered as a box trailer, was parked on Palm Avenue, Surfers Paradise on October 6 last year.

The next morning the owner, who paid $30,000 for the trailer, discovered it missing. The lock had been cut with an angle grinder.

She said the owner turned to social media to find the van. An anonymous person told him the caravan was in Mather’s backyard.

Police went to Mather’s Nerang home and found the trailer under a tarp with all identifying details removed, including the signage and vehicle identification numbers.

Mather told police he had paid $1000 for the van but refused to say whom he bought it off.

He also showed police CCTV footage of the caravan being dropped off.

Magistrate Mark Howden said: “This is a poor error.

“This is going to be an expensive exercise for you.”

Magistrate Howden fined Mather $1400 and ordered he pay $690.25 to repair the damaged signs. No conviction was recorded.

Defence lawyer Farshad Sarabi, of Hannay Lawyers, said Mather was a New Zealand citizen with no criminal history.

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