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Jailed: Traveller gang behind half of British caravan thefts
8 Mar 2010A gang of travellers thought to have been responsible for nearly half the country's caravan thefts over a three-year period were jailed today.
Charlie Ward, 28, Martin Ward, 21, John McDonagh, 31, and Martin McDonagh, 29, had more than £700,000 of stolen caravans, cars, motorhomes, jewellery and cash when they were arrested in Wiltshire in 2007, police said. After they were held, caravan thefts fell from 848 to 454 in a year.
Winchester crown court heard the Ward-McDonaghs began stealing caravans from drives and motorway service stations in 2004.
After a three-month trial the men, all part of the same family, were found guilty of conspiring to steal but cleared of money laundering. Martin McDonagh and Charlie Ward, both fathers of five, were both sentenced to four years and five years, to be served consecutively, for two conspiracies.
John McDonagh and Martin Ward received four years for their part in one of the conspiracies. Sentencing the men, Judge Patrick Hooton said the crimes had caused distress and anguish to victims, adding: “This ... could be described as theft on a grand scale repeated time after time after time.”
The men, who travel between Britain and Ireland, originally come from Castlebar in County Mayo. All had previous convictions related to the theft of caravans.
Nineteen police forces were involved in the operation to catch them. Confiscation proceedings will now take place to seize their assets.
Reader views (16)
...can someone ask them if they've got my lawnmower?
- Gavin, Sydney, 10/03/2010 03:25
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According to my Irish mate, they don't put up with so called "Travellers" nonsense over in Ireland. The authorities here bend over backwards to help them.
- Mark H, London England, 09/03/2010 11:21
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One of the things which made it easy for Caravan Thieves is the availability of keys which fit "everything" (known as Keys to Pass)I went to buy a caravan, they had perhaps 100 new caravans, the salesman was in a flap as he had lost the key "which fitted everything" which ment he had to find a specific key for every caravan. Aparrently most makes of caravans use the same manufacturer of locks and there are only a limited number of keys anyway.
- Trader Jim, Motor Trade, 09/03/2010 08:15
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What?? Travellers responsible for theiving? Whatever next?
- Ian,, Gillingham, 09/03/2010 02:00
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Oh dear, is there nothing the numptys won't put at the door of this government?
I absolutely despise `traveller families and believe they should be sent back to the irish republic, however, they are as sweet as roses compared to Tories and their fellow ultra rightist poodles.
- Kerry Trubee, Purley, 08/03/2010 22:35
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I hope the court remember to apply to the Irish government to seize all their assets over there- be a shame to get a couple of 4x4s seized and leave the big house and account full of cash these blokes are bound to have over there, where they think it's "safe."
- Eddie, Swanley, UK, 08/03/2010 21:06
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No they must have got the verdict wrong travellers do not commit crimes well that is what all the "do gooders" and local councillors in my town tell us.
- Mike Melbourne, Bedford, 08/03/2010 20:54
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Travelers have the right to live as they wish but its time they had some kind of organisation to help them to root out the scumbags who give them a bad name.The organisation would be able to vet the would be travelers before they would be allowed to adopt that mode of living.
T H
- Thomas Hayes, Bradford UK, 08/03/2010 18:22
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I've never understood why Local Authorities have to provide 'permanent' sites for travellers to build 'permanent' or 'semi-permanent' homes. If they are travellers then by definition they travel and have no permanent home. If they want to settle, then do what the rest of us do. Get a job, pay tax, send your kids to school and buy/rent a property.
- Adam, Adam, Harrow, 08/03/2010 17:46
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As someone who has had his caravan stolen I appaled at such a light sentemce. They not only steal the caravan but the personal contents and what made it worse was the police attitude that as it was insured it wasn't that big a deal. The 'van was worth £16500, how would they have felt about a gang robbing a bank and getting away with that amount?
- Aylyn, Orihuela Costa,, 08/03/2010 17:35
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Jeremy Clarkson & pals should be singing the praises of these guys surely?
- Prium, London, 08/03/2010 15:09
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A travesty!! They were doing the country a service, ridding towns and cities of those nasty plastic boxes. It's a pity they never got as far as my neighbourhood - I'd have given them a helping hand.
- Wispy, London, 08/03/2010 13:35
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All down to this lot not able to send the right message
to them, What a government we have.
- Richard Edmunds, Rayleigh UK, 08/03/2010 10:41
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If they get banged up won't it be against their human rights to stop them from travelling ( and thieving).
- Monkey For Sale, London, 08/03/2010 10:10
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A lot of blame must be attributed to the Police in failing to stop check Travellers vehicles. It would be an interesting exercise for a newspaper to ask the question under the Freedom of Information Act, 'How many Travellers vehicles have been subject to stop check in the past year?' As a serving Officer, we conducted a search warrant at a Traveller's site in Grays, Essex some years ago. It was strongly believed that there were a lot of stolen, cloned vehicles at the site. Brightly, someone in charge asked for an overflight by the Police helicopter the day before, to photograph the vehicles. Next morning, bright and early we were there. Guess what, most of the Traveller's had left. Some evidenc of vehicle theft was discovered. It was reported to us the Traveleers had moved across the County border into the Metropolitan Police Area. Our Senior Officer supervising the search did not want to get another Warrant to continue the search, so let them potentially get away with it.
- Paul Bradford, Monflanquin, France, 08/03/2010 09:50
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the labour government have caused all these problems by being so liberal with travellers and criminals its our own fault for electing a liberal labour government if we vote right wing then we can slowly reverse this process vote out all sitting mps in parliament
- John Sunners, london, 08/03/2010 09:28
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