Prolific caravan thieves jailed
The judge described their acts as "theft on a grand scale repeated time after time"
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Local police say it was unclear why the caravan had caught fire, but that it appeared to have been in a well-kept condition |
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Two Wolverhampton men were charged with illegally disposing caravans, after they set fire to their mobile homes at a caravan park owned by their parents. |
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Monday, 08, Mar 2010 05:55
What are widely thought to be the most prolific gang of caravan thieves in the country were today placed behind bars.
The travellers, all aged in their 20s and 30s, are beginning sentences stretching from four to nine years after being found guilty of conspiracy to steal, the Independent reported.
Martin McDonagh and Charlie Ward are to serve two consecutive spells of four and five years, while relatives John McDonagh and Martin Ward will spend four years each inside.
"This trial lasted for three months and during the course of it I heard evidence of repeated thefts of caravans and motor vehicles which in total could be described as theft on a grand scale repeated time after time after time," judge Patrick Hooton said when sentencing the men.
It is believed that the family of criminals may have been responsible for around half of the UK's caravan thefts over the past three years, after the recorded number of incidents dropped dramatically after their arrest.
In other news, a woman was killed recently on the A11 after the caravan she was travelling in was involved in a collision with a van.