Midlands gang jailed after lorry driver's ambush death

A gang of men were today behind bars following the robbery of a Polish lorry driver who died of a heart attack after being ambushed. His body was then dumped by the roadside in Dudley.

Bogdan Bartczak's dead body was dragged on to park land off Vale Road after he collapsed while his lorry was being robbed.

The men targeted Mr Bartczak's HGV because it contained 227 flat screen TVs worth £250,000, Birmingham Crown Court heard.

But the robbery had "tragic consequences" when 57-year-old father-of-one Mr Bartczak, who suffered from a heart condition, died. He was discovered the day after the robbery, seven miles from his lorry which had been abandoned on the Vectra Industrial Estate in Whites Road, West Bromwich.

Judge Michael Cromwell said Mr Bartczak was "disposed of as if he was a worthless piece of roadkill" and said the "callous" group had made no effort to seek medical help when he fell ill.

Nine men were today behind bars after being jailed for a total of more than 45 years in connection with the crime and other lorry robberies.

Police today said they had smashed an "incredibly organised" crime ring from Sandwell, Dudley and Cannock that they believe was responsible for a spate of other lorry driver robberies.

Mystery still surrounds the circumstances of his death and exactly how he ended up in Dudley as the gang members have kept silent – and police admit they may never find out the truth.

Some of the men had originally faced kidnap charges but these were later dropped due to a lack of evidence.

In total seven were sentenced yesterday for their part in the robbery, while another two faced charges relating to other robberies and burglaries.

More than 50 gas canisters worth £65,000 were also stolen by three of the gang during a burglary at Air Liquide in Oldbury on October 31 just hours before Mr Bartczak was targeted.

And thousands of pounds worth of stolen chewing gum and shoes – taken during robberies from lorries in Berkshire and Bromsgrove – were later discovered at the properties of five of the men.

The defendants claimed that they had originally intended to burgle the lorry and it had ended up as a robbery. They all said Mr Bartczak's death was "unintended".

Anthony Kennedy, aged 29, of Bourne Avenue, Tipton, was jailed for six-and-a-half years for robbery and 18 months for handling stolen goods.

Phillip Harthill, 31, of Turner Street, West Bromwich, got six-and-a-half years for robbery and 18 months for the burglary of Air Liquide.

Neino Scarrett, 23, of New Road, Dudley, was given a five-and-a-half-year sentence for robbery and 18 months for handling stolen goods in relation to the chewing gum and shoes.

Daniel Knight, aged 28, of Wednesbury Oak Road, Tipton, got five years and six months for robbery and 18 months for handling stolen chewing gum and shoes.

Glen Garner, 24, of Beresford Crescent, West Bromwich, was jailed for five years for robbery and 18 months for burglary.

A 17-year-old, who cannot be named due to his age, got two years youth detention for robbery and a 12-month training order for handling stolen goods, to run concurrently.

Robert Warren, 33, of Oak Leasow, Quinton, was jailed for two years for attempted theft from the lorry and 12 months for assisting an offender, after he paid a nearby resident who let the gang park their van on her driveway the night of the robbery.

Craig Street, 48, of Bridges Crescent, Cannock, got 16 months in prison for handling stolen chewing gum and footwear.

Martin Payne, 31, of Bleak House Road, Oldbury, got 18 months for the burglary of Air Liquide and two years seven months for a separate offence of burgling a house in Wolverhampton.

All had pleaded guilty to the charges.

By Adam Burling