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Al trailer thieves start their prison sentences
Page 7
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MI by Miles Brignall
four men who went on a threemonth crime spree targeting trailers parked in lay-bys on the Al have been jailed after pleading guilty at Teesside Crown Court.
The gang, which worked mostly at night, attacked trailers parked in lay-bys on or near the Al, mostly in the Leeds/Selby area but also further afield. After slashing a trailer's curtains they would remove the load—often as the driver slept.
Stephen Bentley, David Walker and Jason Wilby admitted conspiracy to steal. Another defendant, Graham Burden pleaded guilty to attempted theft. All the men are in their twenties.
The four, who are all from the Pontefract area of West Yorks, were jailed for between 15 months and three years.
"Although the offences were being committed over a wide geographical area it was clear there was a pattern to them. We managed to bring charges concerning around 60 offences," says investigating officer Steve Smith.
He reports that the piece of evidence That put the whole thing together" was given by a passer-by who spotted the gang leaving a lay-by having stolen 16 cases of vodka from one trailer.
The unnamed man wrote down the number plate of the getaway car and gave it to the truck's driver. The car was linked to a member of the gang and police officers swooped.
Smith adds that there have been just two reports of thefts from trailers in the area since the gang were jailed.