Tipton thieves stole tyres to fund family Christmas

The group, all from Tipton, cut a chain and padlock, and a hole in a fence of the site last December and loaded nine HGV tyres into a van.

Warwick Crown Court heard the group were stopped later on the M5 by police officers concerned their van looked overloaded only to discover the stolen haul.

Jake Blewitt, Wayne Tildesley and Jamie Arnold all pleaded guilty to stealing nine vehicle tyres from manufacturer Dennis Eagle Ltd in December.

The three men also admitted going equipped for theft and damaging a padlock and fencing at the premises on the Heathcote Industrial Estate in Warwick.

Mr Graeme Simpson, prosecuting, said on December 16 a suspicious van was seen at the site, where it manufactures specialist refuse collection vehicles.

He said that the defendants loaded nine specialist HGV tyres worth £675 each into the van.

They drove off with the tyres, which were particularly heavy because they included the hubs, before the police arrived on the scene. But other officers stopped the van on the M5 later that evening.

Mr Antony Schiller, defending, said Blewitt, who had just one previous conviction for aggravated vehicle taking, had a very limited education and, like the others, relied on his hands for work.

"Shortly before Christmas they thought a way of getting some money would be by tatting," he said. "They obtained a 13-year-old vehicle and they were out looking for scrap, not for somewhere to burgle."

Mr Schiller said Arnold, who had 'virtually no literacy skills,' lives with his partner and two children, and has been 'tongue-lashed' by his family for getting involved.

He conceded that Tildesley, who also lacked literacy skills, was in a different position because of his longer criminal record.

Blewitt, aged 18, of Highfield Road, was given a community sentence with supervision for 12 months and a two-month electronically-monitored curfew, and was ordered to carry out 100 hours of unpaid work.

Arnold, 25, of Coronation Road, was sentenced to nine months in prison suspended for 12 months, with supervision and a three-month curfew, and ordered to do 150 of unpaid work.

But Tildesley, 29, of Shakespeare Road, was jailed for 11 months by Judge Sylvia de Bertodano.

Sentencing the three on Friday, she told them: "I am told all three of you did this because it was near Christmas and you wanted some money for your families.

"I accept you may have been looking for scrap at first but I do not accept for a minute that there was not a plan towards the end of the day to get property in a different way."