A BRINKWORTH man accused of taking part in a £1 million series of safe raids has admitted his part in the crimes.

Jesse Gregory pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle when he appeared before a judge at Swindon Crown Court.

The 50-year-old, of Railway Cottages, admitted being involved in a series of more than 100 raids between the end of 2013 and January 21 this year.

A second man, 53-year-old David Royles, also admitted his part in the conspiracy while the third defendant, Joseph Butler, 24, pleaded not guilty.

Butler, of The Willows, Gloucester, will now face a trial by jury starting on Monday, January 11, and Gregory and Royles will be sentenced when it has finished.

Gregory and Royles both pleaded guilty on certain bases and the Crown have been given two weeks to say whether they accept them.

If they do not and it is thought it will make a material difference to sentence the a trial of issue may be needed where a judge will hear evidence and decided on their roles.

As well as admitting the conspiracy Royles, of Sandhurst Lane, Gloucester, also pleaded guilty to two burglaries in Devon.

In those offences he stole a safe containing £2,000 from a brewery and another with £1,000 in it from a farm shop on the same day in May 2014.

Judge Tim Mousley QC remanded all three men in custody to a pre-trial review in December.

At a hearing last month Gregory asked for bail to allow him to attend the funeral of his father, who died while he was inside.

But after hearing there was a risk that the defendant would flee to Ireland and 'disappear' a judge rejected the request.

Gregory and Royles admitted being involved in burgling up to 118 buildings across the south west and West Midlands.

They broke into the isolated commercial premises such as golf clubs or garden centres during the dead of night.

Once inside they either got into the safe using angle grinders or took it away, often causing huge amounts of damage, and emptied it later.

On some occasions they would attach straps to a tow bar of a vehicle and rip it from its mountings so it could be taken elsewhere to be prised open.

There were also said to have been incidents where the suspects took out whole walls to get to a safe, causing massive amounts of damage.

It is believed that the total amount stolen added to the costs of repairs to buildings in 118 raids was in excess of a million pounds.