A MAN has been jailed after he was involved in a gunpoint burglary which left a trio of students terrified.

Benjamin Hinnell, 29, of Mortimer Way, North Baddesley, was jailed along with five other men for a total of nearly 40 years after they carried out the burglary armed with a gun, an axe, a machete, a hammer and a knife.

The gang drove up from South East London on Wednesday, March 11, to raid a shared property in Gedling Grove, in Nottingham, which they believed to contain large amounts of cash and designer clothing.

At around 11pm the men pointed a gun in the face of the young woman who opened the front door and demanded to know the whereabouts of £10,000 in cash they had heard about on social media.

The gang then fled the scene with designer clothes, trainers and a small amount of cash.

They headed back to London in a van and car but both vehicles had been spotted on CCTV.

The vehicles were then pulled over and the six men were arrested by armed police on the M1 in Nottinghamshire. The officers recovered the handgun and other items at the scene.

Yesterday, all men appeared at Nottingham Crown Court and pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary.

The men were; Jack Malvisi, 29, of Chertsey Road, Twickenham; Luca Malvisi, 21, of Chertsey Road, Twickenham; Reece Smith, 24, of Fryern Close, Chandler’s For; Benjamin Hinnell, 29, of Mortimer Way, North Baddesley, Southampton; Darriken D’Rella,22, of Sadler Close, Mitcham; and Mcauley Case, 23, of Fulmer Close, Twickenham.

Jack and Luca Malvisi were sentenced to seven years and four months, and six years and eight months respectively.

Smith received six years and four months, whilst Case received six years and ten months.D’Rella received five years and two months, and an additional 12 months for a separate drugs offence. Finally Hinnell received six years and ten months.

Detective Constable Gabriella Hennessy, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “This was a particularly nasty offence that must have been absolutely terrifying for the victims.

"I can only imagine the sense of fear these young people must have felt as their property was ransacked.

“This brazen gang of cowards thought they could travel to Nottingham and take what they wanted by force.

"Unfortunately for them they hadn’t reckoned on the skill and professionalism of the quick-thinking officers who rushed to the scene and immediately began investigating nearby CCTV cameras.

“Within minutes they had identified the attackers, their vehicles, and the direction of their escape.

"This allowed us to track them on ANPR cameras until they were pulled over by colleagues in Northamptonshire.

"All in all this this was a fantastic team effort that allowed us to take this gang into custody before they’d even arrived home.

"I hope this case will also serve as a warning to anyone else considering committing these kinds of offences: we will find you and you will go to prison for a long time.”