A GANG who cut into a cash machine in the West Midlands, attacked police officers have been jailed for more than 30 years.
The Birmingham gang used vehicles stolen in burglaries to target shops across the country, using force to threaten anyone who got in their way.
New footage has been released of them attacking police and cutting their way in to a cash machine in the region.
The gang struck over the space of a year between 2022 and 2023, in places as far afield as Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and West Mercia.
The men admitted conspiracy to burgle and conspiracy to handle stolen vehicles and goods, but each of the men admitted their roles in only some of the raids.
Between them, they admitted taking part in 17 different offence and handling stolen fire service cutting equipment.
Last August Reece Pedley was among a group of men who arrived at Snappy Tomato Pizza in Coventry and used specialist cutting equipment to steal thousands of pounds from the cash machine.
And in September all four of the men struck at Tesco on Hewlett Road, Cheltenham.
As police arrived, the gang threw rocks and bricks at officers, forcing one of the officers to crouch behind his car. Another threw a brick at the front passenger window where an officer was sat.
They caused damage estimated to cost over £1million to a Tesco Express and a neighbouring baker’s when sparks from an angle grinder they used caused a fire in Kenilworth.
At Birmingham Crown Court Justin Buckley, aged 40, of Brindle Court, Hall Green, Birmingham was jailed for eight years and four months.
Chris Hands, aged 37, of Addison Road, Kings Heath, was jailed for nine years and six months. In addition to the conspiracy charges, he admitted a charge of burglary.
Reece Pedley, aged 34, Pendeen Road, Yardley Wood, was jailed for seven years and seven months.
John O’Shaughnessy, aged 36, of Playdon Grove, Kings Heath, was jailed for eight years.
DC Edward Costello, from West Midlands Police’s Major Crime Proactive Team, said: “This was a professional and organised criminal gang who stole hundreds of thousands of pounds from businesses, and weren’t afraid to use force to get what they wanted.
“They threatened and used significant force against civilians and police who tried to intervene, and they were persistent.
“On one day, they broke into a Tesco Express near Oxford, but found the cash machine empty. Two hours later, they struck at a Tesco Express in Warwickshire.
“They knew where these machines were and how to access them.
“Everyone knew their role, whether it was acting as a lookout or cutting into the machines.”
