TWO burglars who carried out night-time raids on shops across Somerset using stolen vehicles have been jailed at Taunton Crown Court.

Alistair Rutter, 26, from Street, was jailed for 5½ years for five offences, while Johnathan Hughes, 22, from Yeovil, received 3½ years for his part in three of the raids after both pleaded guilty.

Between April 1 and May 1 this year, burglaries were committed by Rutter at One Stop shops in Curry Rivel and Chard, a community shop in Kingsbury Episcopi, a post office in Queen Camel and Waitrose in Chipping Sodbury. Hughes was not present at the Chipping Sodbury and Chard burglaries.

The court heard that the men, who had drug problems, used stolen vehicles, hammers and crowbars to help them get into the shops.

At Kingsbury Episcopi they caused damage estimated at up to £1,000 and stole tobacco products worth about £1,000.

A third man caught on CCTV during that raid and others has not been identified.

The other four burglaries involved attempts to remove and break into the shops’ cash dispensers - one was removed from the Chard shop but the offenders discovered it empty and dumped it in Forton.

They were convicted after Hughes’s blood was found in an ATM machine they attempted to empty in Queen Camel, and Rutter’s footprint was identified on a piece of paper on the floor.

The stolen vehicles included a Mitsubishi truck, Land Rover Defender, Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf - all were used to remove shop doors and ATMs with chains and ropes or as getaway vehicles.

After the case, DS Scott Chadwick said he was pleased with the sentences.

He added: “They caused widespread mayhem and fear within the local communities.

“By stealing work vehicles and targeting small isolated shops people were stopped from working and caused a great deal of financial loss.

“Cash points were literally ripped out of stores using stolen vehicles or using the vehicle to raid the store.”

During the hearing, Hughes was also given six months (concurrent) for assaulting a former girlfriend.

He also admitted criminal damage of her property, including dowsing personal items with chilli sauce and mustard, and for theft of her phone - he received a month in prison (concurrent) for each offence.