Trio steal £13k from ticket machines

VILLAINS stole more than £13,000 from Metrolink ticket machines.

David Rodgers, 43, Michael Gavin, 42, and Paul Higham, 40, have all been jailed for the elaborate spate of thefts across Greater Manchester, including Milnrow.

They clocked up nearly 500 previous offences between them, a court heard as they were sent down. The men were part of a gang which hit 25 machines at 14 stations.

Metrolink lost almost £140,000 from the criminal scheme, from the amount of cash stolen and the cost of repairing machines.

Some of their staff were praised for their ‘public spirited’ actions in helping to catch the men.

The gang’s 10-day spree in December 2017, saw them arrive at stations in ●●Inset from left, Paul Higham, Michael Gavin and David Rodgers were jailed for a spate of offences and (main picture) the thieves on the platform at Crumpsall Metrolink station the early hours when the trams weren’t running. They tried to keep police guessing by striking in different areas of the region.

A total of £13,520 in notes was stolen during the attacks, with a number of masked men using angle grinders and saws to get into the machines.

Rodgers, of Mulberry Court, Pendleton; Gavin, of Eastham Way, Little Hulton; and Higham, of Eastham Way, Little Hulton, all pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal.

Gavin was jailed for five years and four months; Rodgers for five years; and Higham for two years and six months.