Jailed, the getaway driver for gang of house raiders

The getaway driver for a gang of burglars has been jailed after he admitted being involved in raids on homes across Worcestershire netting a total of 100,000.

The gang targeted empty properties during the day and broke in through back windows and doors, Worcester Crown Court heard. Many of the homes were ransacked as the burglars carried out searches for jewellery and other valuables.

In one raid, they stole jewellery worth more than 45,000 and in others, they took a number of items of sentimental value including a young mum's engagement and wedding rings and a grandmother's locket containing family pictures, the court heard. Few of the items have been recovered. One woman victim said she felt "violated" after discovering clothes strewn all around her bedroom as they hunted for valuables and some said in impact statements they were considering moving home.

Wyngrave Allen, of Hadley Court, Edgbaston, Birmingham, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to rob and was jailed for three years and nine months.

Nazreen Sultan, prosecuting, said he had been involved in 14 burglaries and one attempted burglary on various dates in November and December last year. On one day, the gang had driven to carry out raids on four homes in the Worcester area.

They made sure the property was empty to avoid confrontation and to give them more time and the victims only discovered they had been burgled when they returned from work or, on one occasion, from a two-week holiday. The raiders gained entry by breaking windows in back doors or conservatories or by forcing patio doors.

Targets included homes in Dilmore Lane, Lansdowne Crescent, Winchester Avenue, Bicton Avenue and Bevere Close in Worcester. On the last of these, they were disturbed when neighbours spotted two men acting suspiciously.

They also struck at homes in Upton Road, Powick and Leigh Grove in Droitwich, two cottages in Ombersley and one in Hindlip and houses in Elm Road, Evesham and Defford Road in Pershore. A raid on a home in Mason Ryde, Pershore, netted more than 45,000 worth of jewellery, almost half the total haul. They also struck at two homes in Stratford upon Avon.

The value of items taken ranged from several hundred to several thousand pounds, mainly made up of jewellery and electrical items including computer consoles, TVs and games, Miss Sultan told the court.

Allen was caught when he took some of the stolen computer games to sell at a store in Birmingham and his Ford Fiesta was spotted on number plate recognition systems around the areas of the burglaries.

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Jailed, the getaway driver for gang of house raiders