Men jailed over ATM robbery raids

Six travellers from Cambridgeshire who helped steal almost £1m from cash machines across the East Midlands have been jailed at Lincoln Crown Court.

John Smith, 35, and Wesley Smith, 26, of Peterborough, and Geoffrey Manning, 33, and Steven Upton, 27, of Wisbech St Mary, were each jailed for nine years.

All four admitted conspiracy to commit burglary between 2006 and 2007.

Jason Bingley, 29 and Ross Drew, 36, of Peterborough, were jailed for 15 months each for conspiring to steal cars.

All the men pleaded guilty to the charges at an earlier hearing.

Raids took place in Lincolnshire, North Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Leicestershire, Rutland, Nottinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Warwickshire between April 2006 and October 2007.

The court heard how the men used drilling and welding equipment to steal more than £960,000 during 55 raids.

Passing sentence on Monday, Judge Michael Heath said the men, who threatened staff and rammed police cars during the raids, were involved in "serious and professional and organised crime".

Lincolnshire Police said the group targeted large supermarkets and then used high-powered cars to escape.

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