A GANG responsible for a crime spree in Leigh and Warrington have been jailed for a total of 24 years.

The robberies and burglaries carried out by the gang between May and July last year saw about £94,000 worth of goods either damaged or stolen.

Lee Makin, aged 30, and Daniel Atherton, aged 28, both from Leigh, admitted conspiracy to rob and conspiracy to burgle.

They have both been jailed for seven years at Liverpool Crown Court today.

Lee Harper, aged 33, from Atherton, admitted conspiracy to rob and Nicola Wright, aged 39, from Warrington, admitted conspiracy to burgle.

They were jailed for eight years and two years respectively.

The quartet were charged as part of an investigation into 33 burglaries and thefts from cars, and five violent armed robberies.

Most of the house burglaries were committed to steal cars, which would be fitted with false registration plates and used to commit business burglaries or robberies.

The offences were mainly committed by Makin, Atherton and Harper.

Wright – Makin’s girlfriend - would drive Makin around and also handled stolen goods.

The gang would tie rope to a shop’s shutter and their car, and attempt to remove it by driving off.

If successful they would smash their way inside.

They also robbed a letting agent, amusement arcade and garage, mostly in daylight.

Police cracked the gang when Wright was pulled over by police, and items stolen in a burglary were found in her car.

Det Con Lynsey Watson said: “Collectively they conspired to commit serious acquisitive crime for their own ends and did not at any point give a second thought to the trail of devastation they left behind.”