A criminal gang were caught on camera, plotting to raid a Carlisle bank as they carried out a cross-country crime spree.

Eight men have been jailed for almost 40 years, as it emerged they were finally snared while preparing to target a cash machine in Brampton.

Despite numerous attempts in towns which also included Silloth, Maryport, Whitehaven, Cockermouth and Workington, the plot led to just one successful raid. On that occasion they made off with an ATM containing £66,010.

The failed attacks left destruction in their wake and caused damage costing thousands of pounds.

Carlisle Crown Court was told that the men had made a number of failed attempts, but had also been seen checking out the security of other targets.

CCTV played to the court showed two of the gang weighing up Carlisle’s HSBC bank, on English Street, with the criminals seen looking through the bank’s windows.

On one occasion, one of the men, Zane Tinkler, managed to get inside the city finance building, gaining access to a staff area. CCTV showed him brazenly walking up and down the corridors.

In another incident, some of the men were seen in the grounds of Newton Rigg College, near Penrith, with Tinkler pretending to pick up pamphlets as he eyed up the position of the cash machine.

Prosecutor Andrew Ford said: “It was obvious reconnaissance work getting to grips with the environment and lay out.”

An 18-month investigation by Cumbria Constabulary’s Serious and Organised Crime Unit led to the gang, snared during Operation Rumble, being handed sentences stretching from seven years to three years.

They were involved in a conspiracy that targeted ATMs, with the plot lasting for about a year - up to September 2018.

The men either admitted conspiracy to steal or were found guilty of conspiracy to burgle following a trial and were brought back to court this week to face justice.

Those sentenced were:

  • Maurice Smith, 56, of Craika Road, Dearham. He admitted conspiracy to steal and was jailed for four years.
  • Scott Walpole, 28, of Central Road, Dearham. He admitted conspiracy to steal and was jailed for four years and three months.
  • Ashley Macauley, 25, of Aspatria. He admitted conspiracy to steal and was jailed for four years and three months.
  • John Thompson, 26, of Harriston, Aspatria. He admitted conspiracy to steal and was jailed for three years and four months.
  • Dillon Broderick, 22, of Main Street, Ellenborough, Maryport. He admitted conspiracy to steal and was jailed for three years. His role, as the driver at a failed raid in Brampton was deemed the least culpable. He was also given a six-month sentence, to run consecutively for assisting in the commission of an offence on October 12, when he drove another associate to a construction site in Great Broughton.
  • Zane Tinkler, 27, of Brunswick Square, Penrith. He admitted conspiracy to steal and was jailed for four years and six months.
  • Martyn Smith, 37, of Lonsdale Terrace, Dearham. He was found guilty of conspiracy to burgle and was jailed for seven years.
  • Steven Smith, 38, of Towncroft, Dearham. He was found guilty of conspiracy to burgle and was jailed for seven years.

The investigation made a major break-through when police seized two vehicles in Brampton on April 26 last year.

Mr Ford said Walpole and Macauley were caught in the town.

He said: “They were about to attack the Spar. Walpole made no comment. He became aggressive and offensive to the officers.”

Inquiries involving forensic evidence, CCTV work and sifting through other clues helped the police unit tackling serious and organised crime successfully bring together the pieces of the investigation.

The cashpoint that was stolen was at Aldi, Whitehaven, with the raid happening on October 17, 2017 when a vehicle was used to pull the ATM out of the shop wall.

There was a failed raid at Aldi, Cockermouth, on December 5, 2017. The offenders used a stolen tractor to ram into the wall of the store.

In January 2018, glass was smashed at the foyer of the Co-op at Maryport. No attack was made on the ATM inside but the smoke detectors within the foyer were tampered with.

There was an attempt made at an ATM at Home Bargains, Whitehaven, on February 27 last year where the offenders used a nearby lamppost to power an angle grinder to cut through the foyer shutters.

There was another failed raid at an ATM at the Spar in Silloth on March 14, 2018 where the offenders used a stolen telehandler machine to ram into the wall of the shop.

Then there was an unsuccessful attempt in Ambleside on April 7 last year.

A number of other sites were suspected of being looked at as part of the conspiracy.