A man from Bentilee, Stoke-on-Trent has been jailed for two-and-a-half years after stealing two vans from addresses in Longton and Milton.

Christopher Pedley, 41, pleaded guilty to a number of theft offences between November and December last year (2022).

He stole two Mitsubishi trucks from addresses in Longton and Milton, as well as £1,500 worth of tools from inside. Then, he broke into a Ford Transit in Upper Tean and took a tyre compressor and a battery pack from inside.

He was arrested on 23 December 2022 in connection with the thefts and later admitted them in court.

Pedley was sentenced at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Wednesday (14 June) for driving while disqualified, using a motor vehicle on the road without insurance, driving a motor vehicle taken without the owner's consent, two counts of theft from a motor vehicle and two counts of theft of a motor vehicle.

Pedley stole two vans from addresses in Longton and Milton as well as tools inside the vehicles (Staffordshire Police).

As part of his sentencing, he was disqualified from driving for more than five years and ordered to pay a surcharge of £228.

PC Isobel Alkins, of Stoke South local policing team, said: "Pedley's offending was causing a large amount of disruption within the local community and I'm happy he's now serving justice.

"I hope this serves as a reminder that those who seek to steal in Staffordshire will be proactively targeted and brought before the courts."

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