Ram raiders who smashed their way through the front of a newsagent's to steal a cash machine have been jailed.

The serial burglars, whose crimes were described as "exceptionally callous", also broke into multiple homes across Gravesend, Dartford and Meopham.

CCTV footage of the moment Hoadley and Searle bash through the front of the shop

Joseph Hoadley and Grant Searle stole the ATM from the Northfleet Food and Wine in the High Street and later targeted a Co-op in Ebbsfleet.

The pair used a Ford Transit van to smash through the off licence in Northfleet shortly after midnight on November 28, 2019.

Damage worth more than £11,000 was caused after the van repeatedly reversed into the shop front.

Hoadley then entered the shop tying a cord to the ATM and connected to the van which then pulled the machine away, driven by Searle, while Hoadley fled in a Ford Fiesta.

KMTV reports on the break-in and speak to the Northfleet shop owners

Police patrols then located the abandoned Transit under a railway bridge in Lodge Lane, Cobham, about 40 minutes later.

The cash machine was found in the back and CCTV footage captured the offence taking place.

The pair robbed shop staff at the Co-op in Talbot Lane, Ebbsfleet, 10 days after the ram raid.

Searle approached a worker behind the till and placed his hands in the air before being escorted to the rear of the shop and into the stock room.

Hoadley threatened a second employee with a hammer before removing cash from the shop's safe.

They left the scene in a black Mercedes.

Homes across Gravesend, Dartford and Meopham were targeted by the duo between November 25 and December 4, 2019.

Two vehicles were taken from a home in Oaklands Road, Dartford. A home in the Riverview Park area of Gravesend was also targeted during a daytime burglary.

Another two properties were burgled in Wrotham Road, Meopham, stealing a car and air rifle. A luxury watch was also stolen from a home in Freeman Road.

Investigators tracked down the pair using roadside camera footage, mobile phone checks and CCTV footage.

They were tracked to a hotel in Clipper Boulevard in Dartford and were arrested on December 13, 2019.

Police found various items of clothing worn during the Co-op raid.

The pair have been held on remand since their arrests and were sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court on Friday.

Hoadley, 26, of no fixed address, admitted conspiring to burgle a business, conspiring to burgle homes and robbery. He was sentenced to 10-and-a-half years.

Searle, 29, of no fixed address, admitted conspiring to burgle a business, conspiring to burgle homes and robbery. He was sentenced to 11-and-a-half years.

He was also sentenced for five offences committed outside of Kent – including two counts of fraud, handling stolen goods, possessing ammunition when prohibited from doing so and possessing articles for use in fraud.

Ch Insp Junior Dann, Kent Police’s District Commander for Gravesham and Dartford, said: "These two men are prolific thieves who caused exceptional amounts of harm to the victims they targeted.

"Their offending was remorseless, exceptionally callous and demonstrated an alarming willingness to use violence if they did not get what they wanted.

"They have proven themselves to be a considerable danger to the public and I have no doubt they would have continued to offend if they were not apprehended when they were. I am pleased that we have secured justice for each of the victims.

"Their detention and subsequent imprisonment is a testament to the first-class expertise of numerous policing teams, not least our Serious Organised Crime Unit, the Chief Constable’s Crime Squad, our North Kent Criminal Investigation Department and the Gravesham Local Policing Team. These teams have achieved an outstanding result that has doubtlessly made north Kent safer."

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