LORRY driver Brian Fogg was found inside his cab, bound and gagged with sticky tape by police in Humberside in August last year.

Battered and bruised, he told police he had been the victim of a terrifying, knife-point hijack.

His £1m cargo of cigarettes had apparently been robbed by an organised criminal gang.

He dramatically relived how they had stopped him on the M53 in Cheshire, rode with him into Birkenhead docks to collect his load and accompanied him across the country.

But Fogg, 47, was complicit in an elaborate hoax in a case that police hope will teach a valuable lesson to the haulage industry.

After a seven-day trial at Chester Crown Court, class one HGV driver Fogg was found to be the inside man in a staged hijack.

Fogg, of Draperfield, Chorley, was found guilty of conspiracy to steal. His cargo, which he was delivering for Northern Irish cigarette manufacturer Gallaher, has never been found. The Ulster outfit makes Benson & Hedges and Silk Cut cigarettes and Hamlet cigars.

His wife Janet Fogg, 45, was cleared of charges relating to helping him launder money allegedly paid to him for the heist.

Detective Inspector Giles Orton, who leads Cheshire’s Economic Crime Unit, said last night: "Brian Fogg identified weaknesses in the freight haulage business and exploited them to fuel his own greed. His actions allowed his co- conspirators to distribute the stolen goods beyond trace.

"Fogg was treated with respect and compassion when he presented himself as a vulnerable victim of a seemingly terrifying crime. However, cracks started to appear in his account and Cheshire Police worked tirelessly to ascertain the truth and gather evidence against him.

"His blatant disregard and contempt for prosecuting authorities have since come to light, and now he will face the consequences of his actions."