Four ram-raiders jailed after being caught red-handed

Four men who were caught red-handed attempting to ram raid a shop to steal the cash machine have been jailed, police said.

The group used a JCB to batter down the front doors of a Spar store in Long Sutton, Lincolnshire, in the early hours of October 19.

But police - who were on alert following similar raids across the region - were quickly on the scene.

Levi Smith, 49, of Coniston Road, Peterborough; Dale Smith, 28, of Malvern Meadows, Worcester; Leo Smith, 20, of Spriggs Road, Peterborough; and Levi Mitchell, 31, of Gibb Croft, Harlow, were all jailed at Lincoln Crown Court on Friday after admitting conspiracy to burgle, Lincolnshire Police said.

Levi Smith, who also admitted driving while disqualified, was jailed for four years, Dale Smith received a jail term of three years and eight months, Mitchell was sentenced to three years, and Leo Smith two years.

Detective Chief Inspector Neil Ballard, of the force's eastern region special operations unit, said: "This was a brazen attempt to remove an ATM cash machine from a building using a JCB, and the offenders thought nothing of smashing through the front of the shop, not knowing who was inside the premises."