Mercedes ram raid smashed up Tesco foyer in Bishop's Cleeve

A man has been sentenced after an attempted ram raid at a Tesco store in Bishops Cleeve. Jack Bradley, 25, was already behind bars at HMP Hewell when he was charged in connection with the attempted ram raid that took place on Wednesday, December 6 last year.

Gloucester Crown Court heard how he was one of a group of men who used a Mercedes 4x4 vehicle to smash into the Tesco Superstore on Church Road. CCTV footage showed the group clearing the foyer of items such as Christmas wreaths, display shelves and baskets before a Mercedes 4x4 was reversed into metal shutters in an attempt to access the main supermarket.

Although nothing was stolen, the attempted ram raid cost about £80,000 to repair. The store was also forced to close for the day and is believed to have lost £120,000 in potential sales and staff pay as a result.

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Investigating officers found Bradley's DNA on a tissue which was left behind in the car park of the supermarket. The Renault transit van he drove to the scene in was reported abandoned hours later and found to have been stolen.

The van was forensically examined and Bradley's DNA was found on the steering wheel, gear stick, handbrake, a vape and screwdriver found inside. He was visited by officers in prison in February and admitted that he was planning to leave with a safe if the ram raid had been successful.

Bradley was then charged and pleaded guilty to burglary other than dwelling with intent to steal. In mitigation Bradley's lawyer argued that he had a drug addiction and was an unwilling participant in the ram raid. It was stated that he had been recruited to take part by people he was afraid of.

Bradley appeared at Gloucester Crown Court on Tuesday (November 12) and was sentenced to two years in prison. The sentence is due to run concurrently to a sentence he is currently serving for burglary offences after he was jailed in April for three years. He was also ordered to pay a surcharge of £187.

Investigating officer PC Hancock from the Cheltenham and Tewkesbury Vanguard team said: "I am pleased that Bradley has been sentenced as his actions on 6 December last year had a huge impact on those involved.

"It affected the community of Bishop's Cleeve as well as Tesco and its employees. This would've been a very frightening experience for the members of staff who were in the building at the time of the attempted ram raid."