A gang that raided a string of Tesco cash machines have been unmasked after a year-long crime spree.
The quartet used angle grinders and crowbars to break into stores and open up their cash machines, helping themselves to thousands of pounds.
Businesses in Oxfordshire, Gloucestershire, Warwickshire and in the West Mercia police area were also targeted.
Their raid at a Tesco Express in Kenilworth resulted in a fire at the store and a nearby bakery, due to the sparks created from the stolen angle grinder - a tool which is normally used to free car crash victims.
Four men have been charged after their year-long crime spree targeting ATMs
West Midlands Police
The incident resulted in more than £1million worth of damage.
In a similar episode, the group used their tools to force their way into a cash machine at a Tesco in Hewlett Road, Cheltenham on September 7.
When police arrived at the scene, the gang plummeted the officers with rocks and bricks, resulting in one of the cops hiding for safety behind his car.
The gang fled the scene, ramming a police car out of the way in the process.
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The quartet used angle grinders and crowbars to break into stores and open up their cash machines
West Midland Police
Between 2022 and 2023, the gang carried out more than a dozen raids on shops.
On August 31 last year, the group broke into Snappy Tomato Pizza in Coventry, using the same equipment to steal thousands from the cash machine.
Six different police forces across the country launched a major investigation to try and catch the group.
They were identified using mobile phone records, CCTV, vehicle tracking data and witness accounts.
The men admitted to handling stolen fire service cutting equipment, with detectives tracing some of the tools to a break-in at a fire station in 2022, where over £50,000 of specialist tools were stolen.
The group all individually pleaded guilty for some of the raids. Between them, they confessed to participating in 17 different offences.
On April 8, the quartet were jailed for a total of more than 30 years at Birmingham Crown Court.
A fire broke out in the Tesco store due to the sparks released by the angle grinder
West Midlands Police
The four men were jailed for a total of more than 30 years at Birmingham Crown Court.
West Midlands Police
Justin Buckley, 40, of Hall Green, was jailed for eight years and four months.
Chris Hands, 37, of Kings Heath, was jailed for nine-and-a-half years. In addition to the conspiracy charges, he admitted to one burglary.
Reece Pedley, 34, of Yardley Wood, was jailed for seven years and seven months while
John O'Shaughnessy, 36, of Kings Heath, was sentenced to eight years.
Detective Constable Edward Costello, from West Midlands Police Major Crime Proactive Team, said: “This was a professional and organised criminal gang who stole hundreds of thousands of pounds from businesses, and weren't afraid to use force to get what they wanted.
“They threatened and used significant force against civilians and police who tried to intervene, and they were persistent.
“Thankfully, we've now bought them to justice and they will be spending many years behind bars.”
