A trio of members of a gang that stole almost £40,000 from 10 Co-Op and Tesco stores – including two on the edge of Trafford – have been sentenced.

Anthony Carroll, Anthony Hollywood and Daniel Kelly all appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on August 8.

The three men, all from Liverpool, were members of a gang that stole almost £40,000 from 10 Co-Op and Tesco stores in the month after February 10.

These included ones on Chaise Meadow in Lymm and Clippers Quay in Salford, as well as other others in Cheshire and Merseyside.

On each occasion, the gang targeted the stores once closed, prising open automatic doors and roller shutters.

They then forced the safes inside with crowbars and sledgehammers.

Carroll, Hollywood and Kelly were implicated thanks to data from Automatic Number Plate Recognition cameras and mobile phones.

Carroll admitted involvement in two burglaries, while Hollywood and Kelly admitted five burglaries apiece.

At Liverpool Crown Court, Carroll, 42, of Longfellow Street, was sentenced to two years and four months in prison. 

Hollywood, 42, of Stafford Drive, was imprisoned for three years and four months.

Meanwhile Kelly, 31, of Prior Street, was imprisoned for three years and nine months.

After the sentences, Detective Constable Ian Morris, of Cheshire Police, said: “I welcome the sentences handed to Carroll, Hollywood and Kelly and I hope they act as a warning to other offenders.

DC Morris added: "Following their arrests, all three suspects refused to answer any of the questions put to them by detectives.

"However, as a result of the strength of the evidence we gathered against them, all three men admitted their roles in the incidents at court and are now facing the consequences of their actions. 

"The message is clear. If you come to Cheshire and you commit crime, you will be caught and you will be brought to justice."

This article was written by Jack Tooth. Jack is the reporter for The Messenger and covers anything and everything from within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford.

To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.