'Awful' pair jailed over ram raid on shop

Two burglars who stole a hydraulic lifting machine and rammed it into a convenience store to try and steal a cash machine have been jailed.

John Charles and Reuben Reynolds used the telehandler to knock through a wall at Spar in Wesley Road, Retford, at 03:20 BST on 14 March last year.

Nottingham Crown Court heard the pair were left “disappointed” when they found the cash machine was empty.

The men fled in a white van with false plates, but officers located them a short time later at a house in Welbeck Road, Retford.

The ram raid – which caused £40,000 worth of damage – activated an alarm.

Following their arrests, inquiries found both men also carried out a burglary at a Retford pub in which a large quantity of cash was stolen on 3 March 2023.

Charles, 50, and Reynolds, 42, initially denied they were involved but pleaded guilty after police discovered text messages between the pair planning the incidents.

At a sentencing hearing on Thursday both men were jailed for four years.

Charles, of Welbeck Road, Retford, pleaded guilty to attempted burglary, burglary, aggravated vehicle taking and burglary with intent to steal.

Reynolds, of College Close, Newark, pleaded guilty to the same charges.

Charles received an additional one-month sentence, which will be consecutive to the four-year jail term, for possessing nunchakus in a public place on 27 March this year.

Reynolds was given a further seven-day sentence, also to be served consecutively, for assaulting a police officer as he resisted arrest.

Judge Nirmal Shant KC told Charles and Reynolds their raid on the Spar store had involved “significant planning” and caused “extensive damage”.

“I have read the owner’s statement with care and it’s right to say he’s been utterly affected by what you did on that night and will remain affected for many years.

“To describe him as heartbroken is putting it mildly,” she added.

In a victim impact statement, the owner of the shop said: “Nothing prepares you for the emotional feeling of turning up to see a telehandler and a huge hole through the side of your store.

“These awful individuals put at risk 26 years of a family’s work. They also put at risk an amenity that the local community relies on.”

Almost a fortnight earlier the pair had forced entry to a flat above The Vine Inn, in Churchgate, Retford, and stole £1,000.

The court heard both men had previous convictions for burglary.

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