Jail for men who stole nearly £170,000 from two cash machines

They were part of a group of six men sentenced at Manchester's Minshull Street Crown Court after admitting their roles in a series of burglaries targeting cash machines and safes across Greater Manchester.

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Steven Lee Hargreaves, 42, of Dalton Drive in Pendlebury, Salford, was jailed for four years and two months after CCTV footage linked him to a burglary at a business premises on Elliott Street in Tyldesley in February last year.

An alarm was deactivated and an angle-grinder was used to break into the cash machine, from which more than £109,000 was stolen.

Telephone intelligence linked two other men to the crime. Joshua Luke Doyle, 28, of Oaklands Road, Salford, was jailed for four years and six months, while Jordan Taylor, 24, of Windsor Road, Moston, was jailed for three years.

A month later, thieves used cutting equipment to steal £58,660 from a cash machine at a shop on Higher Market Street in Farnworth, Bolton.

Telephone evidence linked Hargreaves and Doyle to the burglary. Hargreaves was arrested the following day at his girlfriend’s home, where a stolen vehicle was found containing angle-grinders, drills and crowbars.

Evidence also linked Doyle to a burglary in the early hours of July 13, 2018 at a pub in Bury where an office safe was stolen.

Doyle pleaded guilty to three charges of burglary following the incidents, while Hargreaves admitted the burglaries in Tyldesley and Farnworth and Taylor pleaded guilty to one charge of burglary in Tyldesley.

Police found the safe in Middleton, with its concrete base smashed and the back removed.

Paul Frater, 33, of Alnwick Road, Blackley, was arrested nearby as he tried to escape by climbing over a garden fence with £500 stuffed in his socks. He was jailed for two years and two months for burglary at the pub.

Martin Leo Chubsey, 34, of Sandy Lane, Middleton, was also seen running away and arrested. He was given a 20-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, for conspiracy to burgle the pub.

In a nearby garden on Tonge Roughs, the home address of Reece Clegg, 25, police discovered angle-grinding discs, sledgehammers and the backing for a safe. He received an 18-month prison sentence, suspended for two years, for handling stolen goods.

After sentencing, Det Sgt Richard Castley, from Greater Manchester Police's serious organised crime group, said: “These men thought they could simply steal tens of thousands of pounds and just walk away. Although they thought they had planned their burglaries well, in reality they left evidence behind and a trail of clues for police officers to follow.

“We work tirelessly to analyse telephone intelligence and CCTV in order to bring groups of dangerous individuals to justice and I welcome today’s sentences which will take these men off our streets for a long time.”

The prosecutions followed a joint investigation between police and the British Security Industry Association's security initiative SaferCash.

Sarah Staff, head of SaferCash said: “This comprehensive investigation run by GMP’s serious organised crime group has dismantled a well organised gang.

"Cash is still an important payment method used widely across the UK. These crimes are impacting on our local high streets and the access of cash which is vital within communities and should be easily accessible. The industry strongly believes that these types of investigations will act as a deterrent to reduce the number of ATM attacks.

“Throughout this case SaferCash worked in partnership with the investigation team and Cardtronics UK and the outcome of this case highlights the benefits of collaboration."