A burglary gang that attacked police and cut into a takeaway cash machine in the West Midlands have been jailed.
The Birmingham gang used vehicles stolen in burglaries to target shops across the country including Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and West Mercia.
The gang struck over the space of a year between 2022 and 2023.
The four men admitted conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to handle stolen vehicles and goods, but each of the men admitted their roles in only some of the raids.
Between them, they admitted taking part in 17 different offences and the gang admitted handling stolen fire service cutting equipment.
Some of the equipment was traced back to a break-in in Warwickshire where £50,000 worth of specialist tools were stolen from a station in 2022.
At Birmingham Crown Court on Monday (April 8), Justin Buckley, aged 40, of Brindle Court, Hall Green, was jailed for eight years and four months.
Chris Hands, aged 37, of Addison Road, Kings Heath, was jailed for nine years and six months. In addition to the conspiracy charges, he admitted a charge of burglary.
Reece Pedley, aged 34, of Pendeen Road, Yardley Wood, was jailed for seven years and seven months.
John O'Shaughnessy, aged 36, of Playdon Grove, Kings Heath, was jailed for eight years.
DC Edward Costello, from the 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.
"On one day, they broke into a Tesco Express near Oxford but found the cash machine empty. Two hours later, they struck at a Tesco Express in Warwickshire.
"They knew where these machines were and how to access them. Everyone knew their role whether it was acting as a lookout or cutting into the machines.
"The theft of the equipment compromised the ability of the fire service to protect communities. Thankfully, we've now brought them to justice and they will be spending many years behind bars."
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