A GANG has this afternoon been jailed for more than 13 years for carrying out smash and grab raids at stores across Hampshire and the south of England.

Southampton Crown Court heard how the five man gang went on a six month burglary spree breaking in to commercial premises and stealing thousands of pounds worth of goods.

Their main victims were the Co-op which suffered 16 different break-ins and attempts at their stores in Hampshire and Dorset the court heard.

The gang would then help themselves to thousands of pounds worth of cigarettes stolen from the counters in raids that we described as well planned and sophisticated.

The Currys store in Hedge End also fell victim when more than £50,000 of goods was stolen last May while a House of Fraser store in Chichester was burgled to the tune of £52,895.

This afternoon serial burglar Barry Kayley, 32, from Webburn Gardens, West End, Max Alexander, 23, from Nelson Road, Southampton, Darren Smith, 35, from Southampton Road in Ringwood and Samuel Cullen, 27, from Tatwin Crescent in Southampton were all jailed for burglary.

Kayley will spend six years in prison, Cullen three and a half years, Smith was given three years and four months and Alexander handed a 16 month jail term.

A fifth gang member Robert Yeo, 30, of Hollybrook Road in Southampton, had his sentence adjourned for probation reports until next week.

All five had pleaded guilty to carrying out burglaries.

The investigation was led by the Hampshire Constabulary's Major Investigation Team (HMIT), working in close liaison with colleagues from Dorset Police and Sussex Police.

Detective Inspector Dave Storey, who led the investigation, said: “This is a fantastic result, in which some persistent and organised criminals have been brought to justice and, more importantly, taken off the streets.

“This is a great example of cross-border working with other forces to deliver a strong message that the police will support businesses in tackling burglary -more important than ever in this difficult financial climate.

“Kayley is a career criminal who was the driving force behind this burglary series, and was very devious in the way he tried to avoid police detection. But we thwarted his efforts, and in sentencing him to six years today, the court has recognised the severity of his criminality.”