'Ice bandit' trio are sentenced

Police said John Perritt and Trevor Jones led the gang of car thieves

Three men have been sentenced after an investigation to combat car thieves who used the cold weather to steal dozens of cars in Greater Manchester.

Police arrested the men who became known as the "ice bandits" following a string of thefts in 2008.

When stolen, the vehicles were left parked up to determine whether they had a tracker. Each was then fitted with false plates and sold on, police said.

The men from Farnworth and Kearsley were sentenced at Bolton Crown Court.

Trevor Jones, 27, of Tigg Fold Road, Farnworth, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal motor vehicles between 17 January and 31 July 2008 and four counts of driving while disqualified and was jailed for 16 months.

In some cases they would steal to order. I am certain the scale of their operation went way beyond those offences that they have admitte Supt Andy Durkin, from Greater Manchester Police

John Paul Perritt, 29, of Beech Avenue, Kearsley, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal motor vehicles between 17 January and 31 July 2008, dangerous driving and four counts of driving while disqualified and was jailed for 28 months.

David Warren Jones, 26, of Church Road, Kearsley, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal motor vehicles between 17 January and 31 July 2008 and was given a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for two years.

The three were arrested on 12 November 2008, after police officers from the Proactive Vehicle Crime Unit executed warrants at three houses during Operation Groundhog.

The trio acted predominantly as opportunistic thieves, stealing cars that had been left unattended and with the engines running on frosty mornings.

The thieves stole mainly Vectra cars and vans, police said

The stolen cars were usually Golfs and Vectras but the group also stole a number of commercial vehicles, such as Transit vans.

Supt Andy Durkin, from Greater Manchester Police, added: "This operation came about following a spate of car thefts and it soon became clear that those involved had further underworld connections and were able to move the cars on quickly.

"In some cases they would steal to order. I am certain the scale of their operation went way beyond those offences that they have admitted.

"They ran a lucrative 'business' and without exaggeration pocketed tens, if not hundreds of thousands of pounds from their criminality.

"We have seen a massive drop in this type of crime since they were arrested and clearly the streets are a lot safer with them behind bars."