Raiders jailed a total of 27 years in prison after string of robberies (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Raiders jailed a total of 27 years in prison after string of robberies

9:00am Thursday 23rd August 2012 in News

A gang who carried out a string of raids, including one at a Chippenham bank when they smashed into the branch glass doors, have been jailed for a total of 27 years.

The trio, from Merseyside and Cheshire, raided banks between January and June 2010. Police hope the lengthy jail term will serve as a warning to criminals that areas such as Chippenham cannot be seen as easy targets.

Chippenham police inspector Martin Schorah said: “This is the perfect example of strong teamwork involving forces working across borders. This conviction is a credit to the hard work put in by our colleagues across the country.

“Chippenham should not be seen as a soft target for criminals. Organised crime groups such as these should take note that they cannot get away with coming into areas such as ours without fear of getting caught and facing a lengthy jail term, as has been in this case.”

On the evening of March 8, 2010, a stolen Ford Focus was driven through the glass doors of the Halifax branch in Market Place. The three men stole cash being delivered for a cashpoint there.

West Mercia Police began to link robberies in Chippenham, Bristol, Newport and Worcester after the robbery of a cash box at Morrisons in Leominster in June 2010.

All three men pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to rob between January and June 2010 and were sentenced at Worcester Crown Court by Judge John Cavell on Tuesday.

Christopher Scully, 44, of Runcorn, was jailed for nine-and-a-half years. Wesley Owens, 32, of St Helens, was jailed for nine years. Kevin McLoughlin, 32, of Liver-pool, was sentenced to eight- and-a-half years in jail.

Detective Inspector Carl Moore of West Mercia Police’s Serious And Organised Crime Unit, said: “Automatic Number Plate Recognition technology played a central role in our investigation.

“We identified the vehicles used by the offenders to travel to and from the Leominster robbery and, by using ANPR data from across the country, we were able to track these vehicles’ movements, which led us to the other offences.

“This was a group of professional, lifestyle criminals committing offences on generally peaceful areas.”