Man and teenager pumped gas into Shepshed cash machine in bid to blow it up
CAUGHT HIDING IN TREE TRUNK AFTER HIGH-SPEED POLICE CHASE
A MAN and a teenager who tried to blow open a post office cash machine have been sentenced.
Frederick Squires, 38, and a 16-yearold who cannot be named targeted the post office in Shepshed on March 4.
At 12.30am they pumped gas into the cash machine and lit a fuse. The attempt failed.
They moved on to the Jet garage in Adwick, near Doncaster, at 3.15am the same day. Using the same tactics, they managed to steal £35,130 in cash.
On March 6, the pair unsuccessfully targeted a third ATM at the Co-op in Starbeck, near Harrogate.
They caught the attention of North Yorkshire police, who spotted the stolen car near York at 2am on March 10.
Trying to escape, the thieves sped off, reaching more than 100mph.
The car drove the wrong way around a roundabout and travelled along the wrong side of the A64 dual carriageway before crashing into the car park barriers at the McArthur Glen York Designer Outlet. They then tried to get away on foot and hid from officers in a tree trunk.
A police helicopter spotted a heat source close to the River Ouse that gave away the location of the thieves.
The pair appeared before York Crown Court last week.
Both were charged with conspiracy to commit burglaries and conspiracy to cause explosions. Squires was also charged with aggravated vehicle taking.
Squires, of Castleacre Road, Swaffham, Norfolk, pleaded guilty to all charges. The 16-year-old was found guilty after a trial.
A third man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to all charges but will be sentenced at a later date.
Squires was sentenced to eight years and six months in prison and was disqualified from driving for seven years and three months.
The teen received a twoyear detention and training order.
North Yorkshire Police’s Detective Superintendent Fran Naughton said: “Setting off an explosion inside an ATM is extremely dangerous, particularly one on a fuel station forecourt, and showed no regard for the safety of residents in the properties nearby.
“The attacks also caused extensive damage to the businesses targeted and meant these vital services were unavailable while being repaired.
“Added to all of this are the highly irresponsible actions of the driver as they fled from the police, endangering the lives of many road users.”
Setting off an explosion inside an ATM is extremely dangerous Det Supt Fran Naughton