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Published:
May 16, 2009
Ram-radiers jailed after attacks
on two Burnham-On-Sea shops
 Ram-raiders
who stole a BMW car from Bristol and then used it to carry out
smash and grab raids on two shops in Burnham-On-Sea were each
jailed for three years on Friday (May 15th).
Southmead men Richard Hebdidge and Lee Tucker were with an
unknown accomplice when they used the vehicle to batter their
way into Superdrug and Boots last
December and make off with perfumes and hair straighteners.
Products
worth £2,055 were stolen from Boots, with an estimated £20,000
damage being caused to the premises, as pictured above, while
similar products totalling £8,111 were stolen from Superdrug,
with an estimated £2,820 of damage caused.
Bristol
Crown Court heard this week how the pair had returned to Bristol
after the raid and tried to out-run waiting police at speeds of
up to 90mph before they were stopped and arrested.
Hebdidge, 24, of Wilton Close, and Tucker, 30, of Ringwood Crescent,
both pleaded guilty to burgling the shops as well as aggravated
vehicle taking by being passengers in the car.
Imposing the jail terms, Judge Mark Horton told the men: "You
took a high risk, high violence expedition to Burnham."
"People who witness these type of incidents are terrified
by the violence that takes place. They are not simply burglaries
of commercial premises; they are violent burglaries of commercial
premises where the cost to those who run the premises would have
been extremely high."
 Both
men were also banned from driving for two years and told to pass
an enhanced driving test before being able to return to the road.
The
court heard that at around 1.15am on December 19th, police were
alerted to a BMW being used to ram-raid the shops in Burnham High
Street. Bristol police positioned themselves on the A370 before
spotting the BMW at 1.40am.
The
car failed to stop for police and sped off through red traffic
lights towards Clifton Hill, accelerating at speeds of up to 90mph
in a 30mph zone.
The police's helicopter was used to follow the car, and while
Hebdidge and Tucker were arrested, a third person got away.
Mr Shepherd said Hebdidge had a plethora of previous motoring
offences, including dangerous driving, driving while disqualified
and taking a vehicle without consent, as well as burglary.
Our
photos show the two damaged shops on Burnham High Street after
last December's ram raid attacks
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