FOUR thieves have been jailed for a total of 24 years for an £85,000 cognac raid near Winchester.

The four were part of a gang that targeted a French lorry parked at Sutton Scotney services on the A34.

Richard Onslow, prosecuting, said in the early hours of November 29, 2005, three balaclava-clad men smashed their way into the cab of a lorry driver, Patrick Pledron.

Mr Pledron was kidnapped and his consignment of Courvoisier cognac - which was en-route from France to Leicester - stolen.

The Frenchman was driven about 10km north of the service area before being bundled into the back of separate vehicle, a Ford transit van. He was released around 7am, after being held for five hours at the Bradley Wood underpass of the A34.

The stolen lorry was discovered later the same morning in Warrington, Cheshire, minus its load, following a collision with a van. Police later raided a nearby warehouse and found barcodes and packaging associated with the brandy.

Mr Onslow said the men had come down from the north to scout for targets in the Hampshire, Berkshire and Dorset areas, two days before the incident.

Sentencing at Winchester Crown Court, Judge Patrick Hooton handed out jail terms to all four, all from the Liverpool area, after they had earlier admitted involvement.

Dean Swanson, 24, of Mottram Close, Kirkby, and Michael Slinger, 43, of Orchards Farm, Thornton, both received six years, while Barry Adams, 29, of Northway, Maghull, got five and a half years, after all admitted conspiracy to steal. Swanson was also charged with possession of a class A drug with intent to supply. Meanwhile, John Moorcroft, 29, was imprisoned for seven years after pleading guilty to a conspiracy to rob charge.

David Lederman QC, mitigating for Slinger, said his client was just the link between the two teams involved in the theft and that there was no evidence linking him to the distribution of the goods. He added: "This is not the high, high level crime. It's not Premier League, it's more Championship."

The judge was told Adams was not involved in the kidnapping of Mr Pledron, while it was Swanson's first offence. It was also mentioned that Moorcroft's young family and business had suffered since he had been in custody.

While sentencing the judge said that although the robbery was not in "the top league of offending" it was nevertheless "highly planned and of high value".