Car-jackers jailed after dashboard camera records their voices

Two car-jackers have been jailed after their victim's dashboard camera captured their voices as they sped off following the offence.

Shane Mullen and Gez Bennett were recorded saying "best car we've had bruv" and referring to each other by name as they narrowly avoided crashing in built-up areas of Coventry.

Mullen, 21, of Glaisdale Avenue, Holbrooks, received a 64-month sentence and Bennett, 19, of Shulmans Walk, Henley Green, was handed a 54-month term at Warwick Crown Court.

Video footage released by West Midlands Police after the sentencing showed a stolen Nissan GTR, which had been taken from a woman in the company of her nine-year-old son, reaching speeds of around 70mph on September 18 last year.

The pair then parked the Nissan in a private road and waited for two hours before other men arrived to buy the car for £4,000, around a tenth of its value.

Bennett handed himself in to police on September 23, while Mullen was arrested on October 8, and both later admitted conspiracy to rob.

Commenting on the case, Detective Constable Sharon Owen, from Coventry CID, said: "It was purely by luck rather than judgment that the vehicle didn't collide with any other cars or members of the public.

"The car may well have been insured, but no money can compensate the psychological impact this has had on the victims in this case.

"We could have easily been dealing with a much worse incident.

"Thankfully the offenders' voices were recovered by the system fitted to the Nissan so we were able to hear them refer to each other by name and discuss what they should say if they were asked how they acquired the car."