Two thieves who were caught after they stole copper wiring from a rural site near Canterbury have been jailed.
Jack Strover and Ambrose Hilden were tracked down by officers after taking the metal from an industrial premises on 28 January 2021.
On 25 June 2021, they were both sentenced for a charge of burglary at Canterbury Crown Court, where Hilden from Ashford, was jailed for one year and two months.
Strover, formerly of Clockhouse, Ashford, had also admitted theft, obtaining property by deception and driving offences in relation to previous incidents and was jailed for one and a half years.
Strover’s first offences were committed on 26 November 2020 when he was seen filing up petrol cans with over 100 litres of diesel at a service station near Sittingbourne, before driving off without paying.
Checks on the car found it was using stolen plates and Strover was identified as the driver from CCTV, partly through distinctive tattoos on his hands.
Further investigation by Kent Police’s Chief Constable’s Crime Squad also linked Strover to a Nissan X-Trail which towed away a trailer during a theft on the Faversham Road, Kennington on 11 January 2021.
Strover and Hilden were arrested after officers attended a report of a theft at a site in Pennypot Lane near Waltham on 28 January 2021.
They were both found in a car with the stolen heavy-duty wiring by officers attending the scene, but claimed it had been ‘found in the woods’.
Detective Constable Michael Kingwell, Kent Police’s investigating officer, said: ‘Thefts from sites like that which Strover and Hilden targeted are a blight on our rural communities.
‘We are committed to protecting those who live in the countryside and bringing those who target them to justice. I am pleased this investigation has seen two such thieves removed from the streets.’