The following is taken from the Lancashire Telegraph website. Just glad there is some good news for once in the fight against quad thefts:
“THREE men caught going equipped to steal quad bikes in the Ribble Valley have been jailed for a total of 42 months.
Preston Crown Court heard how Thomas David Steeple, Shane Alexander Jolly, Dean Anthony Jolly and Christopher Paul Walsh, were caught in the act by police.
Prior to their arrest, the gang, who had travelled to the Trough of Bowland from Rochdale in a transit van, were tackled by a farmer, prosecutors said.
The court heard the farmer, who lives in Bolton-by-Bowland, became suspicious of the gang and their excuse for being in the area and alerted police.
The van was stopped a short time later after the gang changed the number plates in an attempt to distance themselves from the crime, prosecutors said.
During a search of the vehicle, the court heard officers found axes, bolt cutters, a wrench, hacksaw, strapping, wire cutters, a torch, wooden planks and a craft knife.
Recorder Grice jailed three of the gang for a total of 42 months. Walsh, 23, of Pits Farm Avenue, and Steeple, 28, of Clapgate Road, both Rochdale, each received 15 months in prison.
Dean Jolly, 20, of Ings Lane, Rochdale was handed a 12-month prison sentence, while his brother Shane, also of Ings Lane, was handed a six-month community order with six months supervision and ordered to complete 60 hours unpaid work. All four had previously pleaded guilty to a single charge of going equipped for theft.
Ribble Valley councillor, Richard Sherras, said: “Farmers are obviously concerned about becoming the victims of theft.
“It’s not just the potential value of what thieves may take but it’s also the inconvenience. Farmers have bigger problems to worry about and they should not have to be worried about thieves trying to steal their equipment.”
He added: “I hope that these lads have learnt their lesson and that their sentences act as a deterrent to others.””
Taken from: http://www.lancashiretelegraph.co.uk/news/10464828.Quad_bike_gang_caught_in_Ribble_Valley/