JCB thief jailed after wrecking cemetery

A man has been jailed for four and a half years for a catalogue of crimes, including a JCB wrecking spree in which he destroyed parts of a village.

Nottingham Crown Court was shown police helicopter footage of Steven Regan, 34, of Colenso Terrace, Leeds, driving a JCB digger he had stolen from a Barratt Homes building site on July 2 this year.

He was first seen on CCTV driving the vehicle on the A60 in Church Warsop, near Mansfield, at a speed of between 15mph and 20mph.

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In an attempt to avoid police he ploughed through hedges and fields into a park area and then into a cemetery, where he lost control and smashed through a number of headstones.

He used the digger to ram three times the 100-year-old stone and wrought iron cemetery gates to get out the other side but was then arrested nearby when the JCB came to a halt because of a flat tyre.

Prosecutor Jon Fountain said an estimated £15,000 of damage was caused in the cemetery.

Sentencing him yesterday Judge Tony Mitchell said he had behaved like a “man possessed” as he tried to get away from police.

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The judge said little defence could be offered for Regan’s actions, which were part of a larger operation in which he was “but a pawn”, having been paid to steal the vehicles and deliver them to others.

Regan admitted theft, dangerous driving, damaging property, driving without insurance and having no licence. He also pleaded guilty to burglary after he stole a Volvo mini digger and a JCB in Leeds.

He also asked the judge to take into consideration another 16 offences of similar thefts on various dates in 2010 and this year.

Regan was jailed for a total of 54 months for all of the offences, half of which would be served in prison before he would be released on licence. For the driving offences he was disqualified for five years. He will have to pass an extended test to get his licence back.