A man who was involved in stealing thousands of pounds from more than 480 cash machines across the UK has been jailed.

Andrei Matei was was involved in stealing more than £19,000 from ATMs at various locations across the country, including in Bath and Radstock.

He also caused damage valued at more than £30,000 to the machines in his wake.

He and an accomplice used a specially modified tool to jam open the cash dispenser on the ATMs so they could take money from inside.

The investigation started in West Yorkshire but officers the Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit (YHROCU) soon established that Matei was carrying out his activities further afield as well, not just in Somerset, but also across the border into Wiltshire.

Officers conducted a painstaking examination of CCTV footage from a number of other locations across the UK, including West Yorkshire, London, Nottinghamshire and Berkshire.

Matei was arrested in Nottinghamshire on September 1, 2023, and he admitted 483 charges of theft from cash machines and criminal damage.

Appearing before Leeds Crown Court for sentencing on Wednesday, February 26, the 35-year-old Romanian national, formerly of Atherstone Avenue, Crumpsall, Manchester, was sentenced to 27 months.

He will also be deported once he is released.

His offences included ATMs at the locations listed below.

  • Shell Garage, Huddersfield on 9 August 2023.
  • East Bowling Shell Service Station, Bradford, also on 9 August 2023.
  • BP, Pudsey Road, Bradford, on 9 August 2023 and 23 August 2023.
  • Shell Garage, Three Nuns, Mirfield, also on 9 August 2023.
  • Shell Garage, Riverside, Castleford, on 11 August 2023 and on 23 August 2023.
  • Spar, Protovens Lane, Outwood, Wakefield also on 11 August 2023.
  • Best One Supermarket, Nottingham, also on 11 August 2023.
  • BP Garage, Abingdon, Nottingham, also on 11 August, 2023.
  • Shell Garage, Newbury, Berkshire, on 12 August 2023.
  • Texaco Services, West Acre Services, Salisbury, Wiltshire on 14 August 2023.
  • Rontect, London Road, Bath, also on 14 August 2023.
  • Co-op, Widcombe, Bath, also on 14 August 2023.
  • Shell Garage, Radstock, Bristol, 15 August 2023.
  • Esso Garage, Devizes, Wiltshire, also 15 August 2023.
  • Pippin Service Station, Salisbury, Wiltshire, also 15 August 2023.
  • Texaco Garage, North Weald, London, on 16 August 2023.
  • Shell Garage, Stopsley, Bedfordshire, on 21 August 2023.
  • BO Garage, Mansfield Road, Nottingham, on 23 August, 2023.