Hatton Garden heist ringleader Brian Reader jailed

Sentencing of Reader, who suffered a stroke while in jail and has a range of other health conditions, had been delayed

The ringleader of the £14m Hatton Garden heist in London has been jailed for more than six years.

Brian Reader, 77, described as "The Master", is the oldest member of the gang who stole jewellery from the safety deposit, last Easter.

Reader, of Dartford, Kent, who appeared at Woolwich Crown Court via video link from jail, is the last gang member to be sentenced.

The five other members have been jailed for up to seven years each.

Members of the gang previously sentenced are John "Kenny" Collins, Daniel Jones, Terry Perkins (top row, left to right) and Carl Wood, William Lincoln and Hugh Doyle (bottom row, left to right)

Sentencing Reader to six years and three months in jail the judge, Christopher Kinch, said he had taken into account the fact Reader is "seriously unwell" following a stroke while being held at Belmarsh Prison.

The court was told he suffered from a range of medical conditions, from prostate cancer to loss of hearing, and requires daily assistance with simple tasks.

Some of the jewellery found by police following the burglary.

But he added: "I'm satisfied that you were rightly described as one of the ringleaders and involved in regular meetings."

The court heard Reader - whose sentencing had been delayed because of his poor health - was present on the first night of the two-day heist, and during "at least one dry run".

Career criminal

He was chosen to mastermind the raid due to his involvement in the notorious Brinks Mat robbery in 1983.

The men bored through the vault wall to access the jewels

Also known as "The Guv'nor", the judge pointed out there was "a degree of irony" in Reader's monikers given his absence of the second night of the heist, apparently because he had "had enough" on the first night and returned home.

Reader's first ever conviction was in 1950 at the age of 11 for burglary.

Another man who helped get the gang into the vault, known simply as Basil, remains at large.

Around a third of the property stolen by the group has been recovered and most of it returned to the owners, the Met said.