THREE masked burglars with more than 150 offences between them have been jailed after a bungled raid on a York department store.

Jason Stewart, Jordan Both and Anthony Vipas, all high on drink and drugs, used a manhole cover to break a window of Fenwick in the Coppergate Centre and gathered clothes and cosmetics worth £6,342 in a “smash and grab” last month.

But police surrounded the building after being alerted by a witness and caught the thieves red-handed as they left.

Both, 23, leapt into the River Foss to try to escape but was arrested when he climbed out near York Crown Court.

Stewart, 26, and Vipas, 28, had been arrested minutes earlier. All three pleaded guilty to burglary when they appeared before York Crown Court yesterday.

Both, of Greenwood Grove, in Foxwood, was jailed for a year; Stewart, of no fixed address, was jailed for 18 months; and Vipas, of Swinsty Court, in Clifton, was jailed for ten months.

PC Mark Skelton, North Yorkshire Police’s investigating officer, called the outcome “very satisfying”.

He said: “It is fair to say that all three defendants were caught red-handed, which was down to the swift police response following the call from a member of the public who had witnessed the burglary in progress.

“Stewart, Both and Vipas now have a considerable amount of time behind bars to reflect on the consequences of their criminal actions.”

Recorder Simon Phillips QC heard the gang caused £800 damage by smashing a window to get into the closed building, shortly after midnight on Sunday, March 13.

Inside, they started gathering toiletries and clothes, but police arrived before they were ready to leave and as they tried to flee, they were caught and the items were later recovered.

The court heard all three, who had each recently been released from jail for previous offences, could not recall the burglary as Vipas had consumed diazepam and alcohol while both Stewart and Both had taken Valium.

Helen Turner, defending Stewart, said: “This was not a sophisticated or well-revised offence. It was a foolish escapade and an opportunist strike.”

Glen Parsons, defending Vipas, said: “This was a smash-and-grab offence. There can be nothing less sophisticated than grabbing a manhole cover and throwing it through a window.”

Stewart has 30 previous convictions for 89 offences beginning when he was 12 years old; Both has 14 previous convictions for 35 offences; and Vipas has 25 previous convictions for 58 offences.