Burglars jailed after being caught in Bassetlaw amid crime spree

Police spotted the men in Oldcotes, near Worksop, after being alerted to an earlier break-in 20 miles away.

The three men, Jake Hodgetts, Andrew Gaskin and Terry Nichol, were caught thanks to an eagle-eyed witness.

They were arrested and charged – and jailed for a combined total of almost five years at Nottingham Crown Court after each admitted burglary.

Nichol, aged 27, of Ingram Street, Leeds, West Yorkshire, received a 27-month jail term, while 28-year-old Gaskin, of Chestnut Court, Bentley, South Yorkshire, and Hodgetts, 30, of West End Avenue, Doncaster, South Yorkshire, were each locked up for 16 months.

Officers were first alerted when they received a call from a resident in Kirton, near Newark, reporting her neighbour’s home had been broken into on June 1, 2022, at about 4.40pm.

It was discovered the back door of the property had been kicked in and, when the householder returned from holiday, he confirmed that two jewellery boxes had been stolen in the raid.

A witness had taken part of a vehicle registration number of a car seen driving away from the scene and using number-plate recognition cameras, officers caught up with the vehicle parked up in Styrrup Road, Oldcotes, where the men were arrested.

It was later discovered the car had been stolen from an address in Sheffield and was being driven with false plates.

PC Jasdip Hayer, of Nottinghamshire Police, said: “We were able to piece together a case against these three men and I am pleased they have now been given custodial sentences.”