A prolific criminal who drove off in a delivery van while the driver desperately clung to it has been jailed for more than six years. Danny Lee, 25, of Cogate Road, Paddock Wood, was sentenced to six years and three months’ imprisonment at Maidstone Crown Court on 8 July 2026 for robbery and a string of other serious offences spanning several years. The court heard Lee stole a delivery van in Ringden Avenue, Paddock Wood, on 11 January 2024, while a teenage accomplice climbed into the vehicle.
Driver forced to let go
The delivery driver attempted to stop the theft by holding onto the teenager inside the van. However, Lee accelerated away, forcing the victim to let go to avoid being dragged along the road. A short time later, the stolen van was tracked to an address in Mercer Close, where Lee, the teenage boy and two other men were seen unloading parcels into a nearby property before police moved in. Although Lee fled as officers arrived, forensic examination later found his DNA on the steering wheel, gear lever and driver’s door, leading to his arrest and charge with robbery and aggravated vehicle taking.
Dangerous pursuit in stolen car
The court also heard details of an earlier incident on 7 April 2021, when Lee led officers on a dangerous pursuit after being spotted driving a stolen vehicle in Mereworth. The car had been stolen in Orpington days earlier. Ignoring police requests to stop, Lee drove at speeds of up to 60mph in a 30mph zone, carrying out a series of dangerous manoeuvres before abandoning the vehicle on a muddy track near Kent Street and attempting to escape on foot. He was quickly detained by officers. A search of the stolen car uncovered 13 wraps of cocaine, while officers also found a quantity of cash in Lee’s possession. He was later charged with dangerous driving, handling stolen goods and possession with intent to supply cocaine. 
Farm burglaries
Lee also admitted carrying out burglaries at several farms near Tonbridge during September 2024, targeting copper cable and valuable equipment. In one raid at a site in Yalding, he stole around £20,000 worth of irrigation equipment and power cables from a work shed. He was later captured on CCTV selling some of the stolen property as scrap metal before being arrested two days later and charged with burglary.
‘Complete lack of care’
Investigating officer Detective Constable Celia King said:
“Despite Lee being on bail after being charged with several offences relating to the stolen vehicle and copper cables, he showed a complete lack of care by assaulting an innocent delivery driver and stealing her van.
“It was only sheer luck that the victim did not sustain serious injuries that day as it could have ended very differently.”
Accomplices also sentenced
Three other people were prosecuted in connection with the delivery van robbery:
- Danny Lee Senior, 46, of Cogate Road, Paddock Wood, admitted theft of a motor vehicle and was sentenced to 19 months’ imprisonment at Maidstone Crown Court on 22 April 2026.
- Elijah Smith, 26, of Maple Leaf Drive, Lenham, admitted theft of a motor vehicle and received a nine-month prison sentence, suspended for 18 months, on 13 April 2026.
- A 16-year-old boy from Hampshire, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, admitted robbery and being carried in a vehicle without the owner’s consent. He was made subject to a 12-month community order, ordered to pay a £114 victim surcharge, complete 15 days of Rehabilitation Activity Requirement and carry out 50 hours of unpaid work.
Lee will now serve more than six years behind bars for the robbery and the earlier offences, bringing to an end a lengthy investigation by Kent Police into his persistent offending.
