Watch: 'Sticky bandits' burglary gang boast about scale of crimes in West Midlands
A new video has shown the brazen actions and behaviour of the "Home Alone" gang as they targeted different firms around the region.
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The video released by West Midlands Police shows the gang of five men during several of their raids in the Black Country, Staffordshire, Shropshire and Worcestershire taking metal, copper and other goods.
They are seen laughing and joking as they filmed themselves raiding a warehouse, using a forklift to move a lorry out of the way and even filming themselves, while disguised, boasting about their crimes.
The shocking video was released by West Midlands Police after Adam Shakespeare, David Smith, Lee Fletcher, Royston Hallard and David Williams were sentenced to a combined total of nearly 30 years behind bars at Wolverhampton Crown Court on Monday.
They stole vehicles from the companies and used others on cloned plates to take the stolen material back to their based at an industrial unit on Watery Lane in Wolverhampton, and are believed to have sold the metal to scrap dealers.
In one of the thefts at Cashmore Metals in Walsall on January 1, 2023, they turned up with a trailer which was so overloaded with the copper that it toppled over.
They stole £400,000 of metal from the firm and brazenly left behind 'Happy Christmas' message and a crudely drawn picture of male genitals.
The burglars went to great lengths to avoid being caught, with three gang members using 17 mobile phones between them over the course of the crime spree.
Many of the businesses were hit over the Christmas break when the gang thought the risk of being disturbed was lower.
They filmed some of their raids on their own mobile phones, referring to themselves in one clip as the ‘Sticky Bandits’ - in reference to the burglars from the Home Alone films.
One gang member filmed a business near a cemetery and was later recorded talking about how people nearby thought he was mourning at a graveside and not ‘scoping out’ a potential target.
Ten firms in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall, Bilston, Perry Barr, Brierley Hill, Kidderminster, Tamworth and Shrewsbury were hit by the group.
The total loss of materials and vehicles has cost firms £1.6m. Costs to the businesses were estimated at £200,000, while the loss of sales, the cost of beefing up security and increased insurance premiums amounted to more than £800,000.
