FOUR MEN born in Castlebar, Co Mayo, blamed for half of all caravan thefts in England and Wales between 2004 and 2007, were jailed yesterday for up to nine years after a five-month trial.
The number of caravan thefts in England and Wales dropped by nearly half, from 848 to 454, in the 12 months after their arrest in October 2007, while insurance claims fell by 47 per cent, the court was told.
Fathers-of-five Martin McDonagh (29) and Charlie Ward (28) were given nine-year sentences, while John McDonagh (31) and Martin Ward (21) were jailed for four years by Winchester Crown Court yesterday.
The men, members of the Travelling community, were arrested in October 2007 at two halting sites, where they were found with £700,000 worth of stolen caravans, cars and motor homes, along with stolen jewellery and cash.
More than 120 police officers in riot-gear and body armour were involved in the raid on the site in Chiseldon, Wiltshire where the McDonaghs were arrested, while the Wards were detained in a simultaneous raid on a site in Slough, Berkshire.
Passing sentence yesterday, Judge Patrick Hooton said: “I heard evidence of repeated thefts of caravans and motor vehicles which in total could be described as theft on a grand scale, repeated time after time after time.”
The Ward-McDonagh gang, who will now face legal action to seize their assets, began stealing caravans from driveways and service stations in 2004. About £1 million (€1.1 million) worth of goods have been found – half of the amount stolen.
The four men travelled regularly between the UK and the Republic of Ireland prior to their arrest, and all had previous convictions, the court was told.
Speaking yesterday after the court case, which began in November, Det Insp Matt Daveys said the investigation had begun in 2005 and eventually involved 19 British police forces. “ were responsible for committing crimes across the country, many of which had a prolonged and serious affect on their victims,” he said, adding the four had stolen “irreplaceable possessions” from victims.