Metal stolen from a business in Sittingbourne has led to a three-year jail sentence for four men.

Florin Iliuta, 27, of no fixed address, and Ionel Murui, 28, Vader Tanase, 32, and Costinel Tanase, 29, all of Revell Rise, Plumstead, were each jailed for three years on Monday.

The four men had pleaded guilty to one charge each of burglary and were sentenced at Maidstone Crown Court.

The judge heard how, at around 5am on Sunday, January 14, a company in Bonham Drive, Sittingbourne, was burgled and copper metal worth over £10,000 was stolen.

Witnesses reported the alarm sounding at 5.24am and also seeing a group of men running away from the site with their faces covered. The men were also described as running toward a silver Mercedes, a green Volkswagen Estate and a white van.

Officers attended and, at 5.33am, spotted a green Audi near the A2, towards the Sheppey roundabout. Two vans were in front.

Officers followed the Audi while another patrol car followed one of the vans.

The van was stopped and inside officers found Florin Iliuta. In the back of the van a large amount of metal was discovered.

A Sat Nav was also found inside the van with Bonham Drive being the last address entered.

Officers also stopped the Audi and inside the car were Ionel Murui, Vader Tanase and Costinel Tanase. They also found a phone on Costinel Tanase which had a number of missed calls which came from a phone inside the van being driven by Iliuta, showing the men knew each other.

All four men were arrested on suspicion of burglary and later charged.

During the investigation CCTV was found which showed that at around midnight on Saturday, January 13 a group of three men were seen attacking an entry point with sledge hammers. The group spent nearly an hour trying to gain access before they were successful.

They were then seen inside the building walking around with torches and officers believe that several trips were made into order to steal the metal.

At the address in Plumstead police also found a number of invoices relating to the disposal of metal.

Investigating officer, Detective Constable William Looker, said: "These men were brazen in their efforts to commit theses thefts by visiting the same site on more than one occasion.

"Had it not been for the alarm company or residents who called to report the alarm sounding then they may have got away with these offences so I'd like to encourage people to always report suspicious activity to Kent Police as we take all reports seriously."