A British conman who is the subject of a Netflix documentary is reportedly on the run after injuring two police officers while escaping from a raid.
Robert Hendy-Freegard, 51, allegedly drove at the officers while fleeing from a property he shares with his partner Sandra Clifton in Vidaillat, a rural village in central France.
Police raided the property to seize the couple’s dogs after receiving a legal order to close their breeding business, The Times reported.
When officers and animal welfare officers visited the property, Hendy-Freegard allegedly accelerated at the two officers in his Audi A3. One is said to have been carried on the bonnet for 100 metres and was taken to hospital for treatment for a nose injury.
Hendy-Freegard faces a possible charge of attempted murder of a public official, which if found guilty carries a maximum 30-year prison sentence. The dogs are now being cared for by French animal charity SPA.
Earlier this year Hendy-Freegard was the subject of three-part true crime documentary on Netflix called The Puppet Master: Hunting the Ultimate Conman.
In the documentary, the children of his current partner, Jake and Sophie Clifton, say their mother Sandra disappeared with Hendy-Freegard after first meeting him on a dating site in 2014. They allege she has fallen under Hendy-Freegard’s control.
Hendy-Freegard was put on trial at Blackfriars Crown Court in June 2005 on two counts of kidnapping, 10 of theft and eight of deception. He was found guilty and sentenced to life in prison on 6 September.
However, his kidnapping charges were later quashed on appeal and he was released in May 2009.
During his trial, jurors heard he convinced his victims he was a British intelligence officer and that they were on the run from the IRA.
In 2012, Hendy-Freegard met Sandra on a dating app. Her children said she was cut off from the family and were initially unaware they had moved to Vidaillat.
Hendy-Freegard’s neighbours in France told AFP that he made regular trips to Britain but his partner was rarely seen.
Serge told the news agency: “She never went out, apart from in her small courtyard. I’ve been writing to the police, the prefect, the mayor’s office since 2017, but they didn’t take it seriously.”