FIVE men who burgled a Co-op store and then tried to evade police by reaching speeds of 120mph in a getaway were jailed this week for a total of 23-and-a-half years.

The group stole thousands of pounds worth of cigarettes and tobacco from the store in Bourton-on-the-Water last December before fleeing in a VW Golf.

On December 6 last year Gloucestershire police were alerted by a security guard that four males wearing balaclavas forced entry into the shop.

A traffic officer on patrol nearby saw a Golf with no registration plates drive past which then failed to stop for police.

A high-speed pursuit followed which lasted for about 20 miles, during which the Golf travelled at over 100mph along country lanes.

At one point the Golf stopped and four of the burglars fled before the driver, 39-year-old Lee Thomas, of Tuffley Avenue, Gloucester, sped off again before crashing through a fence and into a field and fleeing.

Officers and police dogs searched the surrounding area and discovered ditched clothing which was later used as evidence due to DNA matches.

Alongside Thomas, those jailed were Keiran Maguire, 27, of Hazelton Close, Gloucester; Malachi Headman-Cook, 28, of Linden Close, Brockworth; Thomas Townsley, 27, of Tuffley Avenue, Gloucester, and Miguel Richards, 27, of no fixed address.

Telephone tracking was also used to link Headman-Cook, Townsley and Maguire to a burglary at a family-run newsagents in Burnham-on-Sea, Somerset, on November 2 last year.

When police arrived the rear fire exit door had been forced open with a crowbar and cigarettes estimated to be worth about £7,000 were stolen.

Force Crime Ops Constable Rebecca Clarke said: "I am pleased with the outcome at court. There has been a lot of great police work which has meant that all persons involved in targeting these stores have now received prison sentences.

"The impact their callous actions can have on the victims and their business is huge and distressing.

"It was also lucky no one was killed or seriously injured due to their dangerous attempt at a getaway. Thankfully, we managed to track down all of them and we were able to bring them to justice."

Headman-Cook was jailed for seven years after he admitted taking part in both burglaries and was on a deferred sentence for an earlier burglary.

Maguire was jailed for five years and three months after he admitted the Burnham-on-Sea burglary and was found guilty of the Bourton burglary following a trial.

Townsley was jailed for four years and three months after he admitted taking part in both burglaries.

Richards was sentenced to three years for the Bourton burglary and one year for perverting the course of justice after pleading guilty.

Thomas was jailed for two years for the Bourton-on-the-Water burglary and one year for dangerous driving. He pleaded guilty to both offences.