Gang who stole high-performance cars jailed

A gang who stole high-performance cars across Surrey and West Sussex have been jailed.

The men targeted Audi RS cars in Stoneleigh and Copthorne last year, breaking into houses to steal keys and drive vehicles away while owners slept.

Romaine Simpson, 27, Charlie Hart, 24, and Kayden Brown, 20, admitted conspiring to steal vehicles at Guildford Crown Court.

Simpson, of Sutton, was sentenced to two years and seven months in prison. Hart, of Croydon, and Brown, of Carshalton, were jailed for two years and three months and 16 months respectively.

Brown will serve his term in a young offenders' institution.

A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was also given a youth referral order, a criminal behaviour order and a driving ban by magistrates in February.

The four were caught after officers spotted an Audi RS4 unattended and parked in Chipstead on the same day as one of the thefts, Surrey Police said.

The officers discovered that the registration plates were cloned before the four returned to the car and fled after seeing police.

All were captured after a foot chase, police officer Joe Brown said.

"They tried to throw away car keys connecting them to this vehicle, but these were recovered along with another set belonging to a second stolen car," Brown added.

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