An Englishman's home is still his castle and families should not have to suffer the pain and anguish of intruders. That was the message from a judge as he locked up four gang members who raided homes in Kent and Surrey and stole expensive cars worth a total of £358,000.
Maidstone Crown Court heard the four and two others acted as a team, targeting 14 houses where top-of-the range cars had been spotted parked outside.
William Burton, 19, of Avenue Road, Erith, Edward Wickens, 20, of West Street, Erith, and Matthew Francis, 18, of Valence Road, Erith, were each sentenced to two-and-a-half years youth custody.
Kane Beamin, 18, of Valence Road, Erith, was sentenced to 18 months youth custody and Ayhan Ali, 21, of Abbey Wood, south east London, to 15 months. Charlie Sleight, 19, of Barnehurst Close, Erith, was given 32 weeks suspended for two years with 180 hours unpaid work.
Carpenter William Keating, 25, of Melrose Avenue, Crayford, was sentenced to 51 weeks suspended for two years with 200 hours unpaid work. Judge Philip Statman said: "Your home should be your castle and when there are people who shouldn't be in your home who are trespassing there, they cause the pain and anguish that all these victims speak of."
Prosecutor Deepak Kapur said the burglaries in Swanley, Dartford, Rochester, Chatham, Maidstone and Herne Bay in Kent, and Epsom and Banstead in Surrey were committed by stealth.
They all took place at night when the occupants, including children, were in bed. Beamin was arrested following a high speed chase along the M2 and A2 towards Dartford Heath in December last year.
He was driving a stolen Audi A6 (similar to the one pictured above), one of two taken from a house in Whitehouse Crescent, Burham, near Rochester, minutes earlier.
Officers gave chased as both cars hit 120mph, despite freezing temperatures and thick fog. The Audis sped off the A2 at Dartford and went in opposite directions. The Audi A6 then mounted a pavement and plunged down an embankment.
Beamin was found covered in mud and shaking from the cold. He admitted two burglaries and one of dangerous driving. Burton admitted four burglaries, Wickens seven burglaries, one attempted burglary and one of theft, Francis five burglaries, and Ali and Keating two burglaries.