Moment 2.6m ‘Sticky Bandits’ burglary gang - who left Xmas message for targeted firms - tip van trying to flee

CCTV footage shows a gang who burgled ten businesses in a £2.6m crime spree tipping a van while trying to flee a raid.

The five-strong gang, from Wolverhampton, would spend hours at sites as they stole metal and other goods using heavy-duty plant and machinery belonging to the business targeted.

They would steal vehicles from the firms, and use others on cloned plates, to take the material back to their base at an industrial unit and are believed to have sold on the metal to unscrupulous scrap dealers.

Many of the businesses were hit over the Christmas break when the gang thought the risk of being disturbed was lower. They recorded some of their raids on their own mobile phones, referring to themselves in one clip as the ‘Sticky Bandits’ - in reference to the burglars from the Home Alone films. On one occasion, they drew a lewd image on the floor of a firm and wrote ‘Merry Christmas. Happy New Year’. 

One gang member filmed a business near a cemetery as part of a recce. He was later recorded talking about how people nearby thought he was mourning at a graveside and not ‘scoping out’ a potential target.

Ten firms in Birmingham, Wolverhampton, Dudley, Walsall, Bilston, Perry Barr, Brierley Hill, Kidderminster, Tamworth and Shrewsbury were hit, with the total loss of materials and vehicles costing them £1.6m.

Costs to the businesses were estimated at £200,000, while the loss of sales, the cost of upping security and increased insurance premiums amounted to over £800,000.   

Five men admitted conspiracy to burgle commercial premises between December 2022 and June last year.

They were sentenced at Wolverhampton Crown Court on November 8:

Adam Shakespeare, 31, of Harrowby Road – jailed for six years and five months

David Smith, 36, of Cannock Road - jailed for six years and four months

Lee Fletcher, aged 33, of Bunkers Hill Lane – jailed for six years and four months

Royston Hallard, 30, of Coronation Road – jailed for six years and four months

David Williams, 44, of Willenhall Road – jailed for three years and four months