SPLASHING out on expensive family cruises, designer clothes and luxury items for his home, and feeding a huge gambling habit, William Castle enjoyed a lavish lifestyle – despite apparently living only off benefits.

But the 50-year-old was paying for his life of luxury by ruthlessly stealing from businesses across Hampshire and southern England.

Along with a gang of trusted “lieutenants”, Castle plundered more than £250,000 in cash and goods by smashing their way into warehouses, shops, fast food restaurants and a garden centre.

They even stole the safe from Winchester’s InTech science centre – a charity-run museum that works with schools across Hampshire.

During their raids members of the gang, always dressed in dark hooded tops and balaclavas, methodically cut phone lines by lifting up manhole covers, smashed CCTV cameras, ripped alarms off walls and covered smoke detectors in a bid to avoid being disturbed.

Striking after dark and often spending hours inside the premises they used angle grinders to cut their way into safes, and stole whatever they found, ranging from tons of copper piping to iPods and electrical goods to Argos jewellery.

They were even likened to The ATeam, 1980s action adventure TV favourites who performed outlandish stunts.

But police caught up with them after watching Castle, and through phone records, DNA evidence and CCTV footage were able to prove all six were involved in the crimes.

Today, Castle and his team are behind bars, after being jailed for a total of 32 years.

After being caught red-handed with the safe from InTech, Castle pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary and money laundering.

He was receiving £200 a fortnight in Jobseekers’ Allowance, but was able to pay £2,500 for a family holiday on a 11-night cruise of the Canary Islands, as well as book another £3,500 cruise for later this year.

He also frittered away £85,000 at the bookies in just seven months.

The gang’s total haul was estimated at £300,000 with ten of thousands of pounds of damage done to property.

Judge Gary Burrell described Castle as a “career criminal” who was the “ringleader” of the gang, responsible for organising and facilitating the burglaries.

He said that Castle was prepared to commit further burglaries after he was arrested following the fourth showed “daring risk taking” that he found “breathtaking”.

The judge described one of the raids, on an Argos store in St Albans, as an “extremely audacious attack”

where entry to the building was “like something from The A-Team through a skylight”.

His accomplices, James Meehan, Daniel Collett and Hubert Podstawski also admitted their roles and entered guilty pleas to charges of conspiracy to burgle.

Two more gang members, Darren Wharton and Steven Gregory, were last week convicted of the same offence after jurors rejected their claims not to have been involved.

Prosecutor Adam Feest said Meehan, Collett, Wharton and Gregory, all from Southampton, were members of a fluid team, each forming groups of three or four assembled for the various raids.

Podstawski, from Winchester, was only involved in the InTech burglary, stealing a key and alarm code from his daughter who was working at the centre as a cleaner.

Judge Burrell said the raids were “sophisticated and well organised enterprises”, involving detailed and professional planning that resulted in “slick operations” yielding a high value of profit.

He commended the lead detectives in the case detective constables Samantha Beddoe and Stuart Pearson.

Location of the break-ins

The Gang

The ‘ringleader’

• William Castle, 50, of Fernhill, Oakmount Road, Chandler’s Ford. Jailed for seven and a half years for conspiracy to commit burglary alongside 18 months for money laundering. Has 21 previous convictions for 60 offences.

The ‘lieutenants’

• James Meehan, 39, of Paignton Road, Southampton.

Jailed for five years three months for conspiracy to commit burglary. Has 25 previous convictions for 58 offences.

• Steven Gregory, 51, of Portsmouth Road, Southampton. Jailed for five years for conspiracy to commit burglary. Has 20 previous convictions for 34 offences.

• Darren Wharton, 41, of Chiltern Green, Southampton. Jailed for six years for conspiracy to commit burglary. Has eight previous convictions for 26 offences.

• Daniel Collett, 28, of Croydon Close, Southampton.

Jailed for five years 11 months for conspiracy to commit burglary and breach of a suspended sentence.

Has 14 previous convictions for 30 offences.

n Hubert Podstawski, 51, of Cromwell Road, Winchester. Jailed for three years for conspiracy to commit burglary. Has seven previous convictions for seven offences.

‘This sends out the message that burglars will be pursued and caught’

DETECTIVES said the jailing of the “A-team” gang after an 18 month investigation sent out a strong message to burglars that they will be hunted down.

Det Con Stuart Pearson, one of the officers who led the investigation, said: “These were professional burglars targeting commercial premises and it was well planned.

“It has taken 18 months to get to the stage of bringing this investigation to a conclusion.

“We are very pleased with the convictions and the guilty pleas to many of the charges which led to the judge giving long sentences.

“The ringleader was given the maximum sentence possible for this type of crime in the circumstances – a total of seven-and-ahalf years.

“We believe this will send out a strong message to any burglars that they can expect to be pursued by us and caught and jailed if they do commit such crimes anywhere in Hampshire.”

He said the investigation required officers with specialised skills from many different departments within the constabulary to help bring about the successful prosecution.