Man who led 100mph police pursuit and ran red lights after attempted ATM theft at Co-op jailed

• Footage captured the moment George Jones tried to steal a cash machine in Longfield

A man has been jailed for trying to steal a cash machine from a supermarket in Kent.

George Jones attempted to drag the machine from the Co-op in Longfield near Gravesend.

Two vans arrived at the scene at around 4am on April 6, 2022.

One van was then used to break through the front window of the store.

Two attempts were then made to pull the machine out of the shop, but on the second attempt, the van's chassis bar was broken.

The three men involved then drove away from the scene and switched into a third van in nearby Sandbanks Hill.

A pursuit took place, during which they drove through red traffic lights, the wrong way down a dual carriageway and at speeds of more than 100mph.

Jones, who was found by a police dog hiding under a bush and arrested, was given a four-year, nine-month sentence at Maidstone Crown Court on March 23, after admitting conspiracy to burgle and dangerous driving at a previous hearing.

• Police bodycam footage captured the moment George Jones was arrested

Detective Chief Inspector Christopher Greenstreet, of the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate, said: "With a fourth man now serving a lengthy prison term for this kind of offending, the message to criminals is clear. Come to Kent to steal cash machines and you will be caught and jailed.

"I would like to praise the officers from Kent, the Metropolitan Police and Surrey who responded on the night of this offence, tracking down this man despite his dangerous attempts to get away, and investigators whose work has led to the guilty pleas.

"Measures to help prevent future offences of this kind are now in place and I hope staff and workers at businesses around the county feel safer knowing that those behind this kind of offending are in prison."