TWO brothers who blew up phone boxes on the A64 near Malton have been jailed for a total of seven years.

Stuart Layton, 23, and his brother, Geoffrey, 30, of Seacroft, Leeds, had travelled on the A64 towards Scarborough late at night last November 21.

They used fireworks to blow up the boxes in an attempt to get at the money, causing thousands of pounds in damage to the British Telecom phones.

Stuart pleaded guilty to the offences and was sentenced to three years.

His elder brother, who denied the charges, was found guilty at an earlier hearing and sentenced to four years.

Geoffrey had claimed he and another man, Peter Cheetham, 29, wanted nothing to do with the incident.

Cheetham was found not guilty at an earlier hearing, but the jury convicted Layton after learning he was discovered by police officers with a firework in his pocket and two others down his trousers.

Andrew Woolman, prosecuting, said Geoffrey had told lie after lie trying to deny his involvement.

Cheetham, who suffers from epilepsy, was described as not the "sharpest tool in the box" by his solicitor. Police discovered him in the back of the car having a seizure and he was later taken to the intensive care unit at York Hospital.

Updated: 09:19 Saturday, July 26, 2003