THREE men from Coventry have been jailed following the theft of 17 caravans and five motor vehicles to the value of £360,000 across England and Wales.

Curtis Beston, alongside brothers Lennon and Liam McMahon, all pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to steal from another during sentencing at Chester Crown Court today, Friday.

The trio predominantly targeted sites in Cheshire, including Oakmere, Wettenhall and Byley, before being arrested by Cheshire Police near Whitchurch in the early hours of Monday, May 20.

Runcorn and Widnes World:

Curtis Beston

Officers stopped their Ford Transit van after noticing that it looked similar to one which had been involved in the theft of caravans in the region.

The van was subsequently seized, when it was discovered that it was using cloned number plates and had been stolen from the Coventry area.

Analysis of the trio’s mobile phones, number plate recognition and CCTV footage revealed that their crime spree started on Tuesday, April 9 and involved theft from caravan storage sites after regularly travelling from their homes in Coventry late at night.

They also caused criminal damage at many of the sites and stole items from caravans that they did not tow away.

Beston, 25, was handed a prison sentence of four-and-a-half years, while Lennon, 19, and Liam McMahon, 18, were given four years and three-and-a-half years respectively in a young offenders’ institute.

Runcorn and Widnes World:

Lennon and Liam McMahon

Detective Constable Paul Matchett, who led Cheshire Police’s investigation, said: “Curtis Beston and Lennon and Liam McMahon believed that they could escape justice by carrying out crimes far away from their homes in the dead of night.

“There are around 40 victims and the money they have lost between them in terms of the caravans stolen and damaged alone is approximately £360,000.

“Thankfully, we were able to catch the trio during one of their trips to Cheshire and prove the extent of their crimes via our extensive subsequent enquiries.

“I am delighted that the trio are now behind bars and I want to thank everyone involved in the investigation for all their hard work in securing these convictions.”

The three men started their crime spree in Croughton, before moving on to caravan sites in Wrexham, Byley, Oakmere and Y Ffôr village in north Wales.

Thefts were also recorded in Wettenhall, Warmingham, Coddington and Capenhurst, as well as from sites in Ryton-on-Dunsmore near Coventry and Long Whatton in Loughborough.