TWO soldiers and an accomplice have been sentenced for "stealing to order" more than £45,000 of state-of-the-art equipment from the SAS.

Night vision goggles, sniper scopes, rifle aiming devices, body armour, distraction grenades and flares were among the items stolen by sergeants Craig Davenport and Stephen Suffield.

The pair stole items from the MoD's stores at Stirling Lines Army Camp, Hereford, which they passed on to Andrew Stevens, from Horndean, Hampshire, who sold them internationally through contacts made on eBay.

All three defendants pleaded guilty at Portsmouth Crown Court to an offence of conspiracy to commit theft.

Stevens was sentenced to two years' imprisonment while Davenport, 30, of Crewe, Cheshire, was jailed for 22 months.

Suffield, 28, who has resigned from the Royal Logistics Corp, Chippenham, was sentenced to an 18-month prison sentence suspended for two years.

He was also ordered to carry out 200 hours of unpaid work and pay £2,500 compensation.

Sentencing Davenport, Judge Claudia Ackner told him: "You have thrown away all you have achieved from your long career."

Adam Norris, prosecuting, said that some of the stolen items were on an official list of items Attractive to Criminal and Terrorist Organisations (Acto).

He said: "The night vision goggles are military specification equipment that could have the potential of aiding people who should not have them and are on a list of items that are attractive to criminals or terrorists.

"The significance is our security forces, if dealing with a situation, would not want to be confronted with the sort of equipment they themselves use."

Mr Norris said that Stevens ran an Airsoft military gaming business called Cracking Day Ltd which is how he met Davenport, a keen player.

He arranged for the non-commissioned officer and his friend, Suffield, to steal the items and they used a Whatsapp group called Boys Toys to communicate.

Mr Norris said: "There are thousands of messages and the messages show discussions about stealing property from the stores, in some cases it appears stealing to order, that pieces of equipment should be ordered into the stores to be passed on."

Stevens, 41, was arrested at Heathrow Airport in June 2015 when a radioactive alert went off caused by a pair of night vision goggles he was taking to Hong Kong to sell.

Nina Tavakoli, defending Stevens, a father-of-two, said that he was addicted to collecting military items and boosting his reputation in the world of collectors.

She said: "He was blinded with his obsession with collecting military paraphernalia, it is not making money but it is getting the items that gives him the kicks."

She added: "He no longer wants anything to do with it, he is now collecting Star Wars paraphernalia instead."

Naomi Parsons, defending Davenport, an Iraq and Afghanistan veteran, said he was remorseful for his actions and added it would lead to the "loss of a career he loved and in which he excelled.

"He was someone who was going to go far."

Martin Steen, representing Suffield, who has also carried out recent "front-line service", said that his client had joined the conspiracy to pay off £16,000 of gambling debts.