A gang of men who carried out 19 burglaries across Bucks, Hertfordshire and Bedfordshire have been jailed.

In most of the burglaries, the gang would force their way into homes in the dead of night to steal car keys and other small items before stealing the car.

The approximate value of the cars and items stolen by the men was around £125,000.

Nineteen crimes happened in Chesham, Winslow, Leighton Buzzard, Hemel Hempstead and Caddington between April and July last year.

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Four men involved were all sentenced at Luton Crown Court on May 21.

Joshua Anslow, 20, from Church Road, Studham, pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing and was sentenced to two years and eight months, Tyler Ogden-Hooper, 20, currently of HM Prison, St Loyes Street, Bedford, was sentenced to four years and two months for conspiracy to burgle and conspiracy to steal vehicles.

He was sentenced to nine months, to run concurrently, for dangerous driving to which he pleaded guilty at an earlier hearing. He was also disqualified from driving for 40 months and will have to take the extended driving test.

George Wadsworth, 19, from Hillborough Crescent, Houghton Regis, was jailed for three years and six months for conspiracy to burgle and conspiracy to steal vehicles.

Reece Wheeler, 20, of HM Prison, St Loyes Street, Bedford, was sentenced to four years and two months for conspiracy to burgle and conspiracy to steal vehicles.

A fifth man, Reece White, 22, of High Street South in Dunstable, is still wanted in connection with the burglaries. He failed to appear at court for his trial.

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The burglaries were investigated by Hertfordshire Police, who managed to piece together CCTV images from all the different areas where the burglaries happened, linked them and gathered evidence to identify and arrest the men.

DC Simon Smith, from the Specialist Investigation Team at Herts Police said: "These were relatively young offenders who had started out on a life of crime. Their crimes were of particular concern given the nature of breaking into homes, during the night whilst the occupants were sleeping.

“This was a very involved investigation, but one where the pieces of the puzzle came together and led us to the gang. I hope the time inside provides them with the opportunity to reconsider their life choices.”