Prison terms cut for Wolverhampton cash machine raid gang

The men, all from Wolverhampton, were arrested as they fled the scene of the crime – the Murco petrol station in Warstones Road, Penn, during the early hours of January 13 last year.

Judges at London's Criminal Appeal Court have, however, now ruled the original sentences for the four were 'excessive'.

The jail sentence for the gang's getaway driver Ben Westwood, aged 34, of Woden Road, Wednesfield – whose souped-up stolen Audi RS5 out-paced the West Midlands Police helicopter as it reached speeds of up to 180mph along the M6 – was upheld.

Ramesh Sharma, 39, from Barrington Close, Oxley, was originally jailed for three years after admitting conspiracy to steal, but his sentence was cut to two years and four months.

Gregory Simpson, 27, from Wordsworth Road, was initially jailed for four years after admitting the same offence but his term was cut to three years and four months.

Luke James Watkins, 35, from Whestone Road, Bushbury, was jailed for three years and nine months after admitting conspiracy and dangerous driving but his sentence was reduced to three years and one month.

Stephen Green, 42, from Castlebridge Road, Wednesfield, was jailed for four-and-a half years after being convicted of conspiracy to steal and his sentence was cut to three-and-half years.

Car trader Westwood was behind the wheel of a stolen, specially modified £85,000 Audi RS5 as he out-paced the police helicopter while hurtling north along the M6 from Wolverhampton to Stafford on January 13, 2012.

He then doubled back and dumped the car in Pickering Road, Wednesfield, following a 65-mile chase and was later found in a flat nearby.

Police said the car was linked to 16 raids – between August 2011 and January 2012 – across Staffordshire, Shropshire and the West Midlands, including incidents at a bowling alley and a jewellers.

Westwood was jailed for nine years at Wolverhampton Crown Court in August last year, after being found guilty of conspiracy to burgle, conspiracy to steal and dangerous driving. His sentence remained unchanged. Mr Justice Irwin, sitting with Lord Justice Elias and Mr Justice Saunders, said the raid on the cashpoint involved a considerable degree of planning and preparation and the gang was 'persistent in its attempts to access the cash.

During the case against Westwood at Wolverhampton Crown Court last August, Mr Stefan Kolodynski, prosecuting, said: "On the motorway, the Audi reached 180mph, or maybe higher, and was getting away from the police helicopter. If he had stayed on the motorway he would have outrun it."

Mr Kolodynski told Westwood: "They are your gang and you were the top man driving around in the Audi.

"You are a career criminal and are described as a prolific priority offender."

In February, police brought further action against Westwood in a bid to recover his ill-gotten gains using the powers of the Proceeds of Crime Act.

Wolverhampton Crown Court however then heard he made less than £2,000 from his crimes, despite the spree including the raids of ATM machines and the theft of cigarettes worth over £60,000.

The benefit from the crimes totalled just £1,969.22p, including the £69.22p benefits payment the 33-year-old had collected on the day he was arrested and was still in his trouser pocket when he was seized.

The remaining £1,900 was recovered from his home in Woden Road, Wednesfield.

A further £2,170 cash found at the same address belonged to his mother, the court heard. Mr Kolodynski explained a receipt proved the money came from the sale of her jewellery to a pawnbrokers.

Recorder Andrew Smith QC then gave police 28 days to transfer the money to Proceeds of Crime staff.

The five-month crime spree had put 1,500 miles on the stolen Audi and included raids in Stourport, Worcester, Cannock, Rugeley, Wednesfield, Walsall, Bentley Bridge, Stoke and Market Drayton.

The crime wave ended after police swooped to arrest crooks involved in a bungled attempt to cut open a cash machine in Warstones Road, Penn, on January 13. Westwood sped off in the Audi, one of only two in the country.

In the chase that followed he was going so fast on the M6 that flames appeared to be shooting from the rear of the vehicle.