Huge drop in caravan theft after gang is imprisoned

London: A gang of travellers are thought to have been responsible for almost half the UK's caravan thefts over a three-year period, it emerged yesterday.

The number of caravans stolen dropped from 848 to 454 in a year after the four men were arrested.

Charlie Ward, 27, Martin Ward, 21, John McDonagh, 31, and Martin McDonagh, 29 — all members of the same Irish family — were found to be in possession of nearly £1 million (Dh5.97 million) in stolen goods.

Their haul included £970,000 of stolen caravans, cars and motorhomes, jewellery and cash.

A court heard the Ward-McDonagh family began stealing caravans from driveways and motorway service stations in 2004.

After they were found guilty of two counts of conspiring to steal, Detective Inspector Matt Davey, from Wiltshire Police, revealed officials from the insurance industry reported a 47 per cent drop in national caravan thefts following the gang's 2007 arrest.

He said: "The evidence for the court focused on around 50 offences relating to caravan theft but there were many other offences we considered and did not pursue due to insufficient evidence.

"These crimes were undoubtedly part of a larger operation. The defendants are all related to one another and used to travel the country. Their crimes were committed throughout Britain.

"We started the investigation after a spate of local offences but it soon became apparent there were further thefts throughout the United Kingdom.

"Immediately after the arrests we noticed a massive drop in caravan thefts. These convictions have made a significant impact."