Ram Raiders Jailed After Police Find Suspects Hiding In Birmingham Canal

1 July 2019, 11:39 | Updated: 28 October 2019, 15:21

Dramatic footage shows the moment a gang was found hiding in a Birmingham canal after using a stolen Land Rover as a battering ram.

CCTV footage shows the moment the gang first approach a currency exchange shop, using crowbars to weaken reinforced glass before a stolen Land Rover is rammed through.

As one man looks out, two others pushed a safe from the back of the shop out onto the pavement outside, before dumping it in the back of an Audi.

But police helicopter video shows the gang later escaping from a building in the Land Rover.

The gang, who were wanted for more than 20 shop raids in the space of six weeks, were followed as they sped along residential streets.

Using its thermal imaging camera, the helicopter followed two of the men as they ditched the Land Rover, heading to the canal's edge where they were later picked up by officers.

A third gang member was discovered by a police dog nearby, and the fourth was arrested a few weeks later.

All four were charged with conspiracy to commit burglary and jailed for between 4 and 6 years for their parts in the ram raid plot.