Most wanted woman held in Spain

The former public schoolgirl described as Britain's most wanted woman was finally in custody last night.

Fiona Mont, wanted in connection with an alleged £300,000 computer fraud, had jumped bail, faked her own suicide and fled the country in a light aircraft piloted by her convicted drug smuggler boyfriend.

She then set up a website to taunt police, calling herself 'the Cat' and describing herself as a 'brunette beauty' who had 'constantly evaded the long arm of the law'.

The daughter of a former Conservative council leader from East Sussex was behind bars after the Daily Mail tracked her down to a campsite on Spain's Costa del Sol.

Spanish police, carrying an international warrant and accompanied by two detectives from Sussex, arrested the 31-year-old at a bolthole ten miles from Malaga at 9.50am yesterday.

She was only 24 hours from fleeing again after correctly suspecting she had been discovered.

Mont, in a dressing gown, refused to come out of the dingy caravan, and shouted abuse at the officer who has led the hunt for her, DC Steve Skerrett.

There were ugly scenes as her boyfriend Graham 'the Baron' Hesketh first snarled 'What kept you so long' then attacked Daily Mail photographer Mark Richards, who played a key role in establishing their whereabouts.

Mont broke down and emerged in a black dress and dark sunglasses, clutching a small bag, to be driven in an unmarked car to a nearby police station.

Behind her she left 40-year-old Hesketh, and a ten-month-old daughter, named Samantha, born to the pair while they were on the run.

Mont, who was once expelled from £7,000-a-year St Mary's Hall school in Brighton, fled Britain after being released on bail over allegations that she ordered then sold on computer equipment which was never paid for.

As police prepared to charge her, she faked her suicide by planting evidence which suggested she had flung herself over 500ft cliffs at Beachy Head, near Eastbourne.

A £10,000 helicopter searchand-rescue operation was under way when it emerged she had phoned her mother Joan, the former leader of East Sussex County Council, to say she was alive.

Mont was seen in December 1999 flying out of Shoreham Airport, near Brighton, with Hesketh.

The pair fled Holland in August 2000 just days before police there planned to arrest them.

Then they disappeared, surfacing only on the Internet.

Mont e-mailed the Daily Mail in September 2000 saying she had no intention of giving herself up and that police would have to 'apprehend me, charge me and prove I am guilty'.

She asked the paper to make her an offer she 'could not refuse' for her story. Thatinvitation was declined.

The last straw for frustrated police came last autumn when the pair set up a website - the-baron.50megs.com - to boast about her antics.

It told how Mont had featured on the BBC's Crimewatch and ITV's Britain's Most Wanted programmes.

'Police say that using seduction and charm she had become one of the most sophisticated and cunning fugitives they have encountered,' she crowed.

She claimed to be writing her story, described as 'a story of outlaws in love' under the title Obviously Someone Has Got A Sense of Humour. There was no sign of that cockiness yesterday.

Mont was arrested after the Daily Mail learned her relatives had been making suspiciously regular trips to the Costa del Sol.

Inquiries revealed she was living under a new name, Jacqueline Mayhew, at a campsite deep in woodland about a 20-minute drive along the coast from Malaga.

Hesketh claimed to run a private detective agency, and the pair were said to have been to a recent fancy dress party as Bonnie and Clyde.

Posing as tourists, we visited the campsite to be certain she was there. We passed our dossier to Sussex Police, who alerted Interpol.

Developments were kept secret amid fears Mont might escape again. According to friends the pair had feared police were on to them and were preparing to vanish.

DC Skerrett, who was accompanied by DS Simon Harsley, said: 'I wish to thank the Daily Mail for bringing this matter to a successful conclusion.

'No matter what the crime, nobody should think they are above the law.'

Mont is expected to appear before a local court this morning. She has up to 40 days to challenge extradition proceedings.

Police sources expect her back in Britain by March to face a fraud charge.

Last night Hesketh said Mont would fight extradition. 'She's not given up,' he told a friend.

Police want to talk to Hesketh in connection with the fraud inquiry but have no plans as yet to arrest him.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in