Two men have been jailed and another ordered to carry out unpaid work for their part in the thefts of firefighting equipment from fire stations in Dartford and London.

The trio are thought to be responsible for the disappearance of more than £100,000 of equipment from fire stations and are believed to have targeted up to 24 sites during their crime spree.

Jermaine Okakpu, 26, Jack Edwards, 20, along with Luke Sixsmith-Hughes, 22, targeted the fire stations throughout August and September last year.

Okapu, of Evelyn Road, London, Edwards, of Sark Walk, London, and Sixsmith-Hughes, of Driffield Road, London, broke into Dartford fire station in Watling Street, Dartford, as well as others across the capital and several in Essex.

It is believed they were then selling the stolen equipment to buyers overseas.

After an operation by the Metropolitan Police, Edwards and Sixsmith-Hughes were arrested in a vehicle in Silvertown, east London.

A battery for a thermal imaging camera, stolen the same day from a fire station in Lewisham, was found inside the vehicle.

Further investigation linked the pair to burglaries at 24 premises, with some broken into on more than one occasion.

Both Sixsmith-Hughes and Edwards subsequently admitted their involvement in all the offences and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary.

Okakpu was identified as being involved in the conspiracy and was arrested later and then admitted involvement in eight burglaries, he too pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit burglary at Basildon Crown Court.

Sixsmith-Hughes and Edwards were jailed for three years and Okakpu was was jailed for two years, suspended for 21 months and ordered to carry out 150 hours of unpaid work.

DS Robert Walls, said: “Those involved showed a total disregard for the potential impact these losses could have had on the fire service’s ability to respond to fires and other critical incidents.

“The most frequently stolen items - thermal imaging cameras - are used by the fire brigade to locate trapped persons and to stop fires spreading.

“I have no doubt that the quick detention of those involved and the effective partnership work between the police and fire service enabled us to secure the overwhelming evidence that left the men with no alternative than to admit their guilt.”