A GANG involved in a £1million crime spree across the South East have been jailed for more than 18 years years.

Danny Stevens, Paul Smith, Jason Eastwood and Luke Cole were sentenced at Guildford Crown Court after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to steal.

They stole more than £1 million worth of goods, targeting businesses in Farnham and Elstead in a string of 39 offences, with £300,000 of the total taken from cash machines.

They also caused an estimated £350,000 worth of damage because of their destructive methods.

Stevens, 38, of Hayden Place, Yateley, in Hampshire, was jailed for seven years; Smith, 24, of Shurlock Road, Shurlock Row, in Berkshire, for six years; Eastwood, 41 of Willow Crescent, Farnborough, for three years and four months; and Cole, 24, of Stockbridge Lane, Doncaster, in South Yorkshire, for two years. The majority of the offences were thefts and attempted thefts of cash machines involving the use of stolen vehicles and legitimately purchased vehicles displaying stolen registration plates.

On nine occasions the defendants reversed a stolen 4x4 pick-up truck through the front of a building and then stole the ATMs after ripping them free from their mountings.

The investigation – Operation Talorg – started following a burglary at Mercedes Benz World, in Brooklands, Weybridge last December, when a cash point was stolen.

Officers were able to link the offence to a number of others which had previously been committed due to the group leaving a series of clues during their trail of destruction.

Head of Surrey Police’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit Detective Chief Inspector Shaun Anderson said: “These four men left a trail of destruction in their wake and thanks to the hard work of our officers they will be off the streets for years to come.

“The public can be rest assured we are committed to tackling organised crime as it can have a direct impact on other areas of offending. By taking career criminals such as these off the streets we can put a stop to countless more innocent people becoming victims of crime.”