A GANG of thieves who targeted elderly and frail victims have been jailed for a total of 21 years.

Miles Connors, 40, and his two partners in crime staged 50 house raids against victims whose ages ranged from 98 to 55 from which they netted £27,000 in four months.

Joseph Spencer, prosecuting, said among the victims was an 83-year-old partially-sighted York woman they tried to con by telling her they were police officers. They also stole £24,000 from a house in Edinburgh.

Their life of crime came to an abrupt halt when North Yorkshire Police arrested them at the Quality Hotel, at Selby Fork, as they were splashing out with some of their stolen money.

Judge David Wood said: “These offences were well planned, they were professional, they were targeted at elderly and vulnerable victims all over the UK and they were committed purely for financial gain.”

Miles Connors and his son Patrick, 18, of Prince’s Park Lane, Hayes, Middlesex, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle. The father was jailed for nine years, and the son for seven years.

James Hanrahan, 39, of Park Parade, Hayes, pleaded guilty to a single burglary in Scarborough of an 81-year-old man, and was jailed for five years.

Chief Inspector Steve Smith, who led the police operation against the gang, said: “It is probably nothing short of a miracle that given the scale of offending they were involved in, no-one has suffered an injury that could be attributed to these offences.”

He said putting the three behind bars had meant a lot of hard work which had involved many police forces, but the officers had been driven to get the right results by the nature of the offences and the victims.

The gang stole the money by masquerading as police officers, utility company employees, or council workers. Four of the victims have since died.

Mr Spencer said the conspiracy started in December 2009, and involved members of the gang, including Miles and Patrick Connors, travelling around the country, making temporary bases in caravan parks, including Primrose Valley Holiday Village, and hotels.

The victims also included an elderly woman in Boston Spa.

Miles Connors pleaded guilty on the basis that he did not actually go into any of the houses but sat in a car outside to act as a lookout and getaway driver. He admitted being a gangmaster.

On some days, the gang targeted several addresses in the same street, all occupied by elderly people.

Chris Dunn, for Miles Connors, said his client had an alcohol problem and suffered from depression and was remorseful and ashamed of his actions.

Andrew Semple, for Patrick Connors, said his client had limited education and his wife had been going through a difficult pregnancy at the time. Oliver Jarvis, for Hanrahan, said his client was angry he had reverted to crime – he was on parole for burglary at the time.

All three defence barristers stressed their clients had not used violence. Chief Inspector Smith, Detective Inspector Maria Taylor, Detective Sgt Mark Jackson, Detective Constable Julie Carter, all of North Yorkshire Police, and officers from the Metropolitan and Leicestershire Police, won judge’s commendations for their work.


Campaign relaunched

THE sentencing of the gang took place on the day a new nationwide campaign was relaunched to raise awareness of distraction burglary.

Operation Liberal has been running since 1998, and was responsible for linking the offences of Miles and Patrick Connors, and James Hanrahan in cities and towns around the country, including York, Bridlington, Scarborough, Birmingham, Brighton, Guilford, Harrow and Swindon.

The men posed as police officers or workmen to gain entry to the homes of elderly people in their seventies to nineties, and their numerous crimes were spread across 14 police forces.

Operation Liberal is a police-led initiative, sponsored by the EnergySure Code, and has distributed leaflets and posters to elderly and vulnerable people, with safety and security tips.

Key tips in the leaflets and posters include not keeping large quantities of cash at home, set up a customer password with utility companies, and calling whichever company visitors claim to be from if concerned or unsure.