Gloucestershire fire station burglar 'could have put lives at risk'

Jack McIntosh pleaded guilty to four burglaries

A man who broke into a fire station and stole vital equipment has been jailed.

Jack McIntosh, of High Street in Tredworth, disabled Newent's only fire engine for 15 hours after stealing the vehicle's cutting and lifting equipment on 4 December 2020.

The 35-year-old pleaded guilty to four burglaries and was jailed for 42 months at Gloucester Crown Court on Monday.

A judge said the fire station theft "put the safety and possibly the lives of the public at risk".

"During the burglary, the station's alarm system was disabled, which could have led to very substantial risk or loss to the public had there been a call out," Recorder Richard Mawhinney said.

Jack McIntosh stole vital emergency equipment from Newent Fire Station

The court also heard how McIntosh stole £2,000 worth of tools and equipment from the garage of an elderly man in December 2020, including a hedge trimmer which belonged to the owner's deceased son.

Recorder Mawhinney said the owner had since been "feeling on edge and anxious" and had installed extra security.

McIntosh also took part in the burglary of an outbuilding in Norton, near Gloucester, stealing three motocross bikes and four pedal cycles worth more than £25,000.

'Deeply traumatised'

In a statement to the court, one of the householders said she and her family had been "deeply traumatised" by the burglary, with two of her children now suffering with nightmares and feeling unsafe in their home.

McIntosh, who had 28 previous convictions on his record for more than 50 offences, also played a part in a raid at the Co-op in Longford Lane, when five masked men broke into the store.

Four of the gang were arrested after police followed a trail of whisky from a broken bottle to the Churchdown home of one of the offenders.

Mark Dart, 62, of Vicarage Court, Brockworth, and Scott McChristie, 55, of Coriander Drive, Churchdown, received non-custodial sentences in relation to the incident.

Jack Williams, 39, of Zinnia Close, Churchdown, appeared in the dock on Monday after admitting taking part in the store raid.

McIntosh was involved in the burglary at the Co-op on Longford Lane

Williams also admitted five offences of shoplifting meat and alcohol products worth £240 from Tesco in Churchdown and one offence of breaching bail.

He was sentenced to 12 months in prison.

Recorder Mawhinney told McIntosh he would be jailed because of the number and severity of the offences, handing him a 28 month sentence for the fire station raid.

He was also given a nine month sentence to run consecutively for the motorcycle and bike burglary, a two month consecutive sentence for the tools burglary, and a three month consecutive sentence for the Co-op raid.

The judge said the 464 days McIntosh had been tagged and on home curfew while waiting sentence would be deducted from the time he spends in custody.

"I have turned my life around and this is the way I want to go now," McIntosh told the court.

'Senseless act'

A spokesperson for Gloucestershire Fire and Rescue Service said: "This was a senseless act, which not only resulted in the loss of vital firefighting equipment but more importantly put public safety at risk."

They explained they "fortunately" did not have a call-out during the incident, "otherwise the consequences of the burglary could have been even more severe".

The service said it had improved security at the station, which has recently become a shared space for both the fire and rescue service and the police.