TWO burglars who committed a series of burglaries at businesses across the North-West including Warrington, causing damage and stealing property worth thousands of pounds, have been jailed.
Christian Stokes (pictured top right) and Colin Hughes appeared at Chester Crown Court last Friday, 21 July, where they were sentenced to a combined total of seven years and six months.
The pair had previously pleaded guilty to ten counts of burglary other than a dwelling.
Stokes, 45, of Cranbrook Gardens, Ashton-Under-Lyne, was sentenced to three years in prison. Hughes, 45, of Lewis Drive, Heywood, was sentenced to four years and six months in prison.
Their crime spree began on Thursday 28 February 2019 when they targeted Clairnet Ltd in Birchwood and stole a laptop and three televisions, valued at £3,500.
Then on 25 September 2019, the pair targeted Virgin Care in Daresbury Park, where they caused damage and stole items to the amount of £31,500. Their offending escalated between 4 December and 5 December 2019 when they broke into three businesses in two days.
These included GEA Process Engineering, Millennium House and Firecroft Engineering, all located in Birchwood, from where they stole £16,744 worth of computer equipment and stock.
The pair continued to target seven businesses between 9 March 2020 and 9 October 2020.
CCTV enquiries revealed that Hughes and Stokes would wear outfits to blend in with their environment to not raise suspicion, before breaking into the businesses they would then go on to burgle.
During their 2020 spree, they targeted Conveyor Works and Briggs and Forrester in Daresbury; Marshall House, 1st Direct Computer, PHX Training, Datatel Solutions in Preston; and Gorilla Glue in Chorley, stealing £994,966.34 worth of laptops, televisions, petty cash and mobile phones.
Their criminality was brought to an end on 1 April 2021 following a burglary at MDS Global in Warrington – where they were caught on CCTV carrying two bags and a clear box full of laptops. They then made off in a silver Doblo van.
Officers attended the home addresses of Stokes and Hughes where they were both arrested and subsequently charged with burglary other than a dwelling.
Following Stokes’ arrest, officers discovered a number of stolen items at the property, along with CCTV footage and DNA evidence which linked Hughes and Stokes to the burglaries.
They also recovered a stolen silver Fiat Doblo van and cloned number plates.
Following their sentencing Detective Constable Dawn Taylor said: “Many independent businesses are struggling at the moment due to the economic downturn and high energy costs, so the last thing they need is to be targeted by prolific offenders like Hughes and Stokes.
“Not only did they cause tremendous amounts of damage, they also stole thousands of pounds worth of cash and goods from these premises.
“Thankfully, Hughes and Stokes are now behind bars and are being held accountable for their actions. I hope that the sentences handed to them will provide the owners of these businesses with some closure and provide reassurance to other businesses and the communities affected.”
