The "master" of the infamous Hatton Garden raid used somebody else's Freedom bus pass to travel from Dartford to commit England's biggest burglary, a court heard.
Career criminal Brian Reader, 76, used the Oyster card - which provides free transport to those over 60 on London's transport network - to travel from Dartford Road to the jewellery quarter on Easter bank holiday weekend.
Card records show he boarded the 96 bus before arriving in Waterloo East Station at 6.30pm, the jury at Woolwich Crown Court heard yesterday (November 30).
He then caught the number 55 bus to St John Street - a short, five-minute stroll from Hatton Garden.
Reader did not appear to have owned a mobile phone and may have used his son Paul Reader's mobile to contact others involved in the conspiracy.
The pensioner had been instrumental in planning the burglary which saw valuables worth up to £14million looted from safety deposit boxes in the capital's diamond district - the jury were told.
In CCTV from 8.30pm on April 2, Reader can be seen wearing blue stripy socks, a distinctive red scarf, brown shoes and a long-sleeved high-visibility jacket with the word "gas" on the back.
He is also seen wearing orange and cream gardening gloves.
Reader withdrew from the conspiracy when the gang ran in to difficulties trying to get in to the vault at Hatton Garden Safe Deposit on the first night, April 2.
The other men involved in the raid allegedly returned the following night to complete the job.
Yesterday, Detective Constable Matthew Hollands gave evidence in court, and said the travelcard was found in Reader's wallet after his arrest.
He added: "It is in the name of Mr T. McCarthy. It does not have Brian Reader's photo on it, but it was found in his wallet."
Reader, along with three other "ringleaders" - John "Kenny" Collins, 75, Daniel Jones, 58, and Terry Perkins (below), 67, - has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary.
Carl Wood, 58, of Elderbeck Close, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire; William Lincoln, 60, of Winkley Street, Bethnal Green, east London; and Jon Harbinson, 42, of Beresford Gardens, Benfleet, Essex, face the same charge of conspiracy to commit burglary between May 17 last year and 7.30am on April 5 this year.
A fourth man, plumbing engineer Hugh Doyle, 48, of Riverside Gardens, Enfield, north London, is jointly charged with them on one count of conspiracy to conceal, convert or transfer criminal property between January 1 and May 19, this year.
TODAY'S TOP STORIES:
He also faces an alternative charge of concealing, converting or transferring criminal property between April 1 and May 19, this year.
One of the thieves, a red-haired man known only as Basil, remains at large.
Jurors have heard that two thirds of the £14million worth of goods that were stolen have not yet been recovered.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here