Pair are locked up for ramraids on garages

Two men who stole thousands of pounds worth of cigarettes after ramraiding two service stations in the Black Country have been sentenced to just over two years behind bars.

Michael Moore, aged 25, and Lee Costin, 20, both from West Bromwich, smashed their way into the garages using stolen vehicles in May. The pair also broke into a West Bromwich pub in the same month and targeted the fruit machine, Wolverhampton Crown Court heard yesterday.

In the first ramraid, Moore and Costin used a stolen white Vauxhall Cavalier to break into the Texaco garage in Smethwick on May 6 at 3.50am.

Mrs Helena Miller, prosecuting, said: "The vehicle was reversed at speed into Texaco service station.

"A large quantity of cigarettes was stolen to the value of around £5,000."

Moore, of Young Street, and Costin, of Cordley Street, then targeted the Jet service station in Oldbury four days later on May 10 at 3.25am. They used a stolen Ford Transit van to smash their way into the business.

Mrs Miller added: "They were seen by a witness who alerted the police. Police dogs were used and they led officers to the defendants who were found nearby in a parked car and arrested.

"They were also spotted on CCTV cameras in the service station."

The pair had also broken into the Ridgacre Pub on May 6 at 1.30am through a side window. They forced open the fruit machine and police found a sample of Moore's blood at the scene.

Mr Jas Mann, defending Moore, said: "At the age of about 10 he started using soft drugs and from the age of 16 he moved onto heroin and crack cocaine. It was after this he started to commit crimes."

Mr Benjamin Nicholls, defending Costin, said: "He is a young man with a troubled background."

Moore, who admitted two counts of theft, three of burglary and one of handling stolen goods, was jailed for 27 months. Costin admitted a single count of theft and three of burglary, and was sentenced to 27 months in a young offenders' institution.