Cousins who killed man, 47, in Weston-super-Mare among 18 sick criminals locked up in January
A number of serious and violent offences have seen people locked up recently
Updated
Matthew Shaw was among the criminals jailed in the West Country in January (Image: Avon and Somerset Police)
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The convicted men Churches in Somerset and North Somerset were among those targeted by four men who were this week jailed for nationwide thefts of lead. The four defendants stripped tonnes of lead from a mixture of Grade 1 and Grade 2 churches between May 2018 and March 2020 - costing 36 churches a combined total of almost £2.1million. The four men were sentenced at Lincoln Crown Court on Wednesday, January 6.
Constantin Motescu, 32, of Stebbings, Sutton Hill, Telford, admitted 23 charges of theft.
Paul Buica, 25, of George Street, Birmingham, admitted 16 thefts.
Mihai Birtu, 24, of Port Street, Evesham, admitted 14 thefts.
Laurentiu Sucea, 38, of George Street, Birmingham, admitted 13 thefts.
A ROMANIAN gang who stripped lead from ten Somerset church roofs have been jailed for a combined total of more than 20 years. The four men targeted 36 churches across England over two years, costing them a total of £2.1million in damage and repairs during a two-year crime spree. The local churches included St Peter and St Pauls, South Petherton; St Edward King and Martyr, Goathurst; St Mary s, Glastonbury; St Giles , Bradford-on-Tone; St Andrew and St Mary, Pitminster; Holy Cross, Middlezoy; St Mary s, Barrington; St Peter s, Ilton; St Mary s, Chetserblade; and St John the Baptist, Wellington. They also stole lead from churches during night-time attacks in Lincolnshire, Cambridgeshire, Yorkshire, Dorset, Wiltshire, Suffolk, Leicestershire and Derbyshire.
A prolific gang who stripped the lead from dozens of rural churches across England were today jailed for a total of 22 years.
The four Romanian men, who were all living in the West Midlands, targeted churches from Somerset to North Yorkshire during a two-year crime spree which left churches facing repair bills totalling more than £2million.
Among those counties hit hardest during the two-year crime spree were Lincolnshire, Somerset, Cambridgeshire and Yorkshire.
The thieves also took lead from churches in Dorset, Wiltshire, Suffolk, Leicestershire and Derbyshire.
In March last year police arrested three of the men, all living in the West Midlands, after a specialist operation involving several forces.