A THIEF who was part of a gang that stole thousands of pounds from cashpoint machines has been jailed for three-and-a-half years.

In one of the raids at Maidstone Hospital almost £14,000 was taken. In another, in Norfolk, the haul was over £17,000.

On both occasions Darren Lloyd left behind a vital clue - his blood on the inside of the damaged ATM machines.

Maidstone Crown Court heard that it was matched to Lloyd on the police DNA database and the chances of it not being his was a billion to one.

Edmund Burge, prosecuting, said security guards at Maidstone Hospital rushed to the foyer on April 6 last year after hearing banging.

The guards saw that the side of the machine had been prised off with a crowbar, which was left behind, along with a large amount of cash and a latex glove.

Lloyd, a 29-year-old father, of Dagenham, Essex, was then linked to another cashpoint theft at the Winter Gardens in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk.

Mr Burge said the gang had broken in overnight and again cut away the side of the machine. A total of £17,160 was stolen.

Lloyd also admitted an attempted burglary at a cash and carry in Dagenham on July 10 last year.

Alison Armour, for Lloyd, said he had kicked a drug habit but his past then caught up with him. He owed £5,000 for a drug debt and the dealer demanded double.

He committed the offences in a “desperate, stupid attempt” to get the money to settle the debt.

Lloyd was supposed to just be the driver for the gang, she said, but he was the only one skinny enough to get his arm inside the cash machines.

Judge Anthony Balston told Lloyd: “Your involvement in drugs has led you to commit serious crime. These burglaries of cash machines are regarded very seriously by the courts.”