SIX members of an organised crime gang who stole computer gaming chairs worth more than £6,000 from a lorry parked in Uttoxeter have been jailed.
Paul Wishart, Thomas Bibby, David Fielding, and brothers Kevin, David and Paul Atkinson were jailed for a combined total of more than 11 years at Stoke on Trent Crown Court for stealing the chairs worth £6,200.
The six men unloaded 89 chairs from the back of an Iveco HGV parked in a lay-by on the A50 Draycott Island in the early hours of Tuesday, November 24, last year.
The X-Rocker chairs were loaded into a 12-ton truck which they had brought to the scene.
The driver of the Iveco, who was asleep when the incident occurred, reported the theft to police at 4.15am.
Within 15 minutes, the truck containing the stolen chairs was spotted by Central Motorway Police Group (CMPG) officers on the northbound M6 at Junction 16.
CMPG officers pulled the truck over and also stopped Skoda and Nissan Primera cars used by the thieves.
Six men, all from Liverpool, were arrested and they all admitted conspiracy to steal when they appeared at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court.
They reappeared before the court on Friday to be told their punishments.
Wishart, 45, of Quarry Close, was jailed for 20 months, Bibby, 30, of Keresley Road, and Fielding, 48, of Kemble Road, were imprisoned for two years.
Brothers Kevin Atkinson, 35, of Trecastle Road, David Atkinson, 39, of Beaconsfield, Prescott, and Paul Atkinson, 38, of Kenbury Road, were also jailed for two years.
Wishart, David Atkinson and Paul Atkinson were also given two-year driving bans.
Detectives from Staffordshire Police’s Major Investigation Department carried out a thorough inquiry into the theft to bring the men to justice.
Detective Sergeant Steve Maxfield said: “This organised crime gang, which included three brothers, deliberately targeted the lorry while its driver slept.
“Thankfully, they were quickly apprehended by CMPG officers.
“Our Crown Prosecution Service colleagues carefully considered the evidence to make sure appropriate charges were brought, reflecting the gravity of the offences.
“These sentences underline our determination to crack down on HGV thefts and do all we can to bring the criminals responsible to justice.”
Anyone with information about HGV crime is asked to telephone Staffordshire Police on 0300 1234455 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111.
