TWO men have been jailed for their part in ram raids on cash machines that caused hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of damage.

Maidstone Crown Court heard the thieves stole about £160,000 and caused over £400,000 worth of damage.

They targeted Asda in Greenhithe, Tesco’s in Gillingham and NatWest Bank in Larkfield between June and October last year, having stolen diggers and other vehicles to remove ATM machines.

In the first raid on Asda in Greenhithe in the early hours of June 21, the corner of the store was demolished and a cash machine containing £160,000 was stolen.

The damage was estimated at £120,000. The machine was taken on a flatbed truck to a nearby cricket ground, where the cash was removed.

The second raid on Tesco’s in Gillingham was unsuccessful but £200,000 worth of damage was caused.

The raid on NatWest in Larkfield was also bungled. The stolen digger used became stuck. This time the bill for damage was £84,000.

Tony Hart, of Christianfields, Kings Farm, Gravesend, was sentenced to six-and-a-half years and Jon Cloke, of Rochester Road, Gravesend, to five years nine months.

Hart and Cloke, both 23, admitted conspiracy to burgle.

Judge Philip St John-Stevens told them: "These are serious offences - serious because other criminality was involved. It involved a high degree of planning.

"Whatever security system is in place, however sophisticated alarms may be, they provide no protection for a JCB digger to go through the wall."