Caravan thefts in the UK fell by 47% following the arrest of four male members of a single Wiltshire family in 2007.
According to The Guardian, Charlie Ward, 28, Martin Ward, 21, John McDonagh, 31, and Martin McDonagh, 29, were caught with “more than £700,000 worth of stolen caravans, cars, motor homes, jewellery and cash when police detained them.”
Just as the gang must have been congratulating themselves on a prodigious feat of market-cornering, police from 19 forces were following the trailer clues right to their door.
The gang clearly made an impression on Judge Patrick Hooton, who commented: “This trial lasted for three months and during the course of it I heard evidence of repeated thefts of caravans and motor vehicles which in total could be described as theft on a grand scale repeated time after time after time.”
So caravan fans can now breath a sigh of relief with the quartet safely detained at Her Majesty’s pleasure and not in any way likely to be conducting caravan-theft masterclasses for an eager captive audience.
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