Man jailed for two years over attempted ram raid

Jack Bradley has been jailed following the attempted ram raid in December 2023

A man has been jailed for two years after an attempted ram raid on a supermarket.

Jack Bradley, 25, from Cheltenham, made an escape in a white van after trying to break into the Tesco superstore in Bishop's Cleeve in the early hours of 6 December 2023.

Judge Lawrie KC said of Bradley's actions: "It was a spectacularly stupid thing to do regardless of how incompetently it was carried out."

He was sentenced at Gloucester Crown Court on Tuesday.

CCTV footage showed Bradley and two others driving at speed into the entrance area of the Church Road store as staff stacked shelves inside.

The men cleared out the Christmas trees in the atrium and then reversed towards the main steel shutters.

After five or six attempts, they gave up, having only made a dent in the shutter.

DNA left on a dropped tissue, the van’s steering wheel and on a vape pen left in the van led to Bradley's arrest.

According to a statement from the store manager at the time, staff were "very frightened", and called 999.

During questioning, Bradley admitted his involvement, but his defence team argued he was an unwilling participant, only doing what the other two men told him to do.

He was found guilty of a charge of committing burglary other than a dwelling with intent to steal.

'People were frightened'

Judge Lawrie KC said it was "a group action with an element of planning" as he sentenced Bradley, who appeared via video link from HMP Hewell Grange

"Your incompetence caused significant damage and other consequential loss," he said.

"A lot of people were very frightened and you gave no thought to that - you knew exactly what you were doing but didn't do it very well.

"I hope I never see you again - but I suspect that I will."