St Ives Cash Machine Robber Jailed

A robber who was traced through DNA on his homemade balaclava has been jailed.

28-year Maurice Rogers used a stolen JCB to tear a cash machine from the wall of the Co-Op store in St Ives, during the early hours of 27th September last year.

The cash machine, containing more than £89,000, was loaded onto the back of a Mazda B2500 pick-up truck by Rogers and four other men who have not been identified.

The men split up and sped off in the Mazda and an Audi S3, leaving the JCB at the scene in St Ives.

A tracking device in the machine showed the Mazda travelling through Earith before reaching a stop in Wentworth, 22 miles away.

Officers followed the device to Wentworth, spotting the Mazda, which sped off into a field.

The driver fled from the car and managed to escape from officers, who recovered the stolen cash machine from the vehicle.

While in Wentworth, officers noticed an Audi S3 that matched the description of the second vehicle involved in the ram raid.

The occupants, all men wearing balaclavas, left the vehicle and fled from officers. One of the men removed his balaclava which officers later recovered.

The balaclava was sent for forensic analysis and DNA from Rogers was found.

Rogers, of Willow Drift, Bedford, pleaded guilty to burglary and was jailed for three years and eight months on Thursday (21st February) at Peterborough Crown Court.