THREE men have been sentenced to a total of 31 years for a spate of robberies which included the burglary of the cash machine at the Co-op on Rockfield Road, Monmouth last November.

Alfie Adams, 39, Charlie Smith, 31, and John Doran, 20, used gas canisters to break into 23 cash machines in three months, before stealing their contents.

On 8th November, the trio used gas canisters to blow open the ATM in Monmouth, before using power tools to gain access to the store to get to the cash.

The thieves, who were wearing balaclava masks, also used disc cutters to cut through shutters and a sledge hammer to smash through a glass window. They made off in a white BMW.

At Leicester Crown Court on Friday (13th April), all three previously admitted eight counts of burglary, three counts of unlawfully and maliciously causing an explosion of a nature likely to endanger life or cause serious damage to property, and one count of theft and asked for other burglary offences to be taken into consideration.

Charlie Smith, of Bitteswell, Lutterworth was sentenced to 10 years and seven months, Alfie Adams of Bickershaw Lane in Wigan was sentenced to 12 years and John Doran, of Gildersome, Leeds was given an eight years and seven months sentence. Doran was also given an additional five month sentence for breaching a suspended sentence.

DC Ian Griggs led Gwent Police’s investigation, assisted by Major Incident Team Support Officer Andy Smith.

They linked in with other police forces as similar offences were recorded in Cambridgeshire, Hertfordshire, Leicestershire and Northamptonshire between August and November 2017. In total, more than £1.5m was stolen.

Detective Chief Inspector Martin Smalley of Leicestershire Police led the investigation. He said: “These three men caused hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage to stores across the region, taking a very blasé attitude to their own, and the public’s safety.

“The volatile gas mixtures they used to cause the explosions could have had devastating consequences.

“These crimes were very visible in the community, and the impact felt by residents and business owners was significant. The reliance on these ATMs by such small rural communities was great, but the fear and discord caused by these attacks in what was often the heart of their village was much greater.

“At the time of these incidents there was some criticism — an opinion that little action was being taken by the police — but this wasn’t the case. In the background a number of teams using a variety of tactics were working tirelessly to identify and arrest those responsible. From those responding to the live incidents, through to scene preservation and investigation, it’s been a massive undertaking both by the force with vital support from the East Midlands Special Operations Unit. It’s work we often don’t like to talk about, but rest assured this burglary series was a top priority.”