Jail for Merseyside gang who blew up cash machines

Members of a gang which blew up cash machines at banks and supermarkets have been jailed.

Seven men stole £550,000 in a crime spree across England and Scotland in 2015 and 2016.

Some machines were blown up using "powerful explosives" as they caused £160,000 of damage.

At Liverpool Crown Court they were convicted of conspiracy to cause an explosion and burglary. They were given terms of between 10 years and life.

Clockwise from top left: Anthony White, Anthony Conroy, Andrew White, Nanu Miah, Michael Galea, Gary Carey, Carl Cavanagh

How the gang that blew up cash machines was caught

The gang members mostly came from Merseyside and were caught following a covert police operation.

The court heard they carried out 13 raids between February 2015 and February 2016.

The men targeted ATMs at businesses such as banks or supermarkets

The attacks happened in Sonning Common and Woodstock in Oxfordshire; Alsager and Culcheth in Cheshire; Huyton in Merseyside; Hucclecote in Gloucestershire; Swindon in Wiltshire; Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk; Carnoustie in Angus and Perth; and Aberdeen.

'Dangerous tactics'

An investigation by Titan, the Northwest Regional Organised Crime Unit, found the gang stole high-powered vehicles to carry out the raids, which they concealed in a special trailer attached to a lorry.

The men slept in hammocks inside the trailer which also had fuel containers to reduce the number of times they had to use petrol stations or motorway services, Merseyside Police said.

In their last raid on a Co-op in Angus in February 2016, the audacious gang sawed through the roller-shutter doors before dragging the ATM out using a Land Rover Defender and straps to steal £16,000.

The defendants:

• Andrew White, 28, of Exeter Street, St Helens was jailed for 19 years with an extended two years on licence after admitting conspiracy to commit burglary and being convicted of conspiracy to cause explosions.

• Anthony White, 26, of Kingswood, Huyton was jailed for 16 years after he was convicted of conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to cause explosions.

• Nanu Miah, 28, of no fixed address, was jailed for life with a minimum of nine years after he admitted conspiracy to commit burglary and was convicted of conspiracy to cause explosions. He will only be released when a parole board decides it is safe to do so.

• Anthony Conroy, 30, of Wavertree Vale, Wavertree was jailed for 12 years and admitted conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to cause explosions.

• Carl Cavanagh, 34, of Barford, Huyton was jailed for 11 years after being convicted of conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to cause explosions.

• Michael Galea, 41, of Gregson Road, Prescot was jailed for 15 years following a conviction for conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to cause explosions.

• Gary Carey, 40, of Gorseburn Road, Liverpool was jailed for 10 years after being found guilty of conspiracy to cause an explosion.