Gang jailed for blowing up cash machines across Hampshire

Five Hampshire men took part in a vast series of “well organised and orchestrated” criminal activities, including burglaries and car thefts, over a nine-month period, as well as the ATM incidents, to the cost of approximately £1.2million in total loss and damage.

On one occasion they also stole a one-year-old French Bulldog - which thankfully was returned to its owners.

Between April 2019 and January 2020, they used crowbars, oxyacetylene gas and petrol to blow up ATMs and steal tens of thousands of pounds in cash.

From left, David Patrick Hughes. Top row: Colin Golding and Cameron Chivers. Bottom row: Adam Jones and Jesse Matthews

The group members were not all involved in all of the attacks, and just three of the 14 attempts were successful, totalling more than £61,000 stolen.

David “Paddy” Hughes of Street End Close, Rotherwick, was the “leading figure” of the group which was responsible for £250,000 in damage, £99,500 in vehicle thefts and £146,000 in domestic and commercial burglaries.

The 31-year-old admitted conspiring to steal, conspiring to burgle and conspiring to cause explosions in October last year.

At his sentencing at Winchester Crown Court this week, the 31-year-old attended by video link, while his co-defendants - Adam Jones, 31, from Fareham; Colin Golding, 26, from Farnborough; Cameron Chivers, 24, from Southampton; and Jesse Matthews, 21, from Bordon appeared in person.

Opening proceedings on Monday, prosecutor Mark Ruffell said that Hughes and Jones were “prolific” criminals who met in prison and were at the forefront of the attacks.

Cash machine alight at the Premier Store, in Brockenhurst

They carried out the attacks while on license from prison, recruiting the others.

Mr Ruffell said: “What distinguishes the offenders in this case, is that the ATM attacks were like large waves in a sea of crime and were treated like another day’s work by those involved.”

The court heard how all of the incidents were carried out “in the dead of night” and on more than one occasion, the occupants of the property targeted lay asleep inside.

The gang would meticulously plan the attacks on cash machines, stealing cars in the lead up to a job to use as getaway vehicles with any potential spoils.

When carrying out the attacks on the ATMs, they would break open the machine, before pumping gas in using a hose and then igniting it in the hope of causing a violent explosion to gain access to the money held inside.

In the majority of instances, the men fled the scene empty-handed. However, the fires caused thousands of pounds worth of damage.

READ MORE: Five men charged after 14 ATMs across Hampshire, Dorset and Surrey are hit using explosives

And in one of the attacks, at a Tesco Express in Bishopstoke, when the ATM failed to explode, a stolen Land Rover Defender was unsuccessfully rammed into the ATM in an attempt to gain access, causing structural damage to the building in the process.

Following a series of dawn raids at addresses across the county, involving 150 officers, the men were arrested and charged for their involvement in the burglaries and explosions.

Sentencing the men today (Friday), Her Honour Judge Angela Morris described the attacks as “well organised and orchestrated” and “motivated by unadulterated greed with no thought for other innocent parties”.

She added that the lack of success in 11 of their attempts was “hardly compelling mitigation” adding: “In all 14 cases you did not fail to cause the explosions - those certainly happened. The only failure was that your concrete efforts did not cause the ATMs to give up their contents, it was not for want of trying.”

She continued: “None of you gave a moments thought to the dangers you placed those innocent and unsuspecting residents, or the trauma they would undoubtedly experience.”

The judge handed Hughes 17 years imprisonment. Jones received 13-and-a-half years, Golding nine years, Chivers eight years and four months, and Matthews six years and eight months.

In total, the group were handed 54-and-a-half years in custody.

Hughes, Jones and Golding will also be subject to Serious Crime Prevention Orders, with the details to be decided at a later date. 

READ MORE: Paddy Hughes 'blew up ATMs' in Hampshire, Dorset, Surrey

Speaking after the sentencing, Detective Inspector Steve Court said: "These five men gave no thought for the residents of the homes they were burgling or the danger they were putting people in when exploding ATMs.

"Their only thought was to feed their own greed, no matter the cost, both monetary and emotionally, to the hard-working business owners whose properties they damaged, to the residents' of the addresses they burgled, and to the family who thought they had lost their beloved pet.

"As an investigation team, we have dedicated many hours to tracking down the gang and ensuring we can prove their involvement.

"They thought they were above the law, that they could steal with impunity, but let this serve as a warning. We will catch you."

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