ATM gang stole £700,000 using circular saws to cut their way into dozens of supermarkets across Britain

• Gang also stole £250,000 of souped-up sports cars to make their getaways
• They led police on daredevil pursuits at speeds of more than 150mph
• Cash machines breached using petrol-driven circular saws

A gang which stole almost £700,000 from supermarket cash machines across the country by sawing into them with power tools was jailed today.
The robbers from the Midlands and Birmingham used high-powered circular saws meant for cutting railway lines to remove the fronts of cash machines in a 14-month crime spree.
They made their getaways in souped-up sports cars stolen to order which they used to outrun police at speeds of more than 150mph in daring night-time pursuits.

Heavy duty: Sparks fly as the gang attack shutters in Collingham, Nottinghamshire, with power tools in one of their audacious robberies. Four members of the gang were today jailed for their part in the raids

A crashed Audi that was used by the gang: They made their getaways in souped-up sports cars stolen to order which they used to outrun police at speeds of more than 150mph in daring night-time pursuits

Jailed: Noel Reilly, 33, of Birchills, West Midlands, left,, and David Holmes, 31, of Walsall, West Midlands, right, were each jailed for seven years after admitting two charges of conspiring to commit commercial burglaries

Behind bars: Simon Phillips, 33, of Billesley, West Midlands, left, was jailed for five years and Darren Buckley, 35, of Acocks Green, Birmingham, right, was sentenced to five years, seven months

Between September 2010 and November 2011 the four raiders robbed 33 supermarkets and homes, stealing £684,210 in cash and £250,000-worth of cars.
After they were jailed at Birmingham Crown Court, police yesterday released dramatic CCTV of the gang carefully carving a cash machine straight out of the wall.
Noel Reilly, 33, of Birchills, West Midlands, and David Holmes, 31, of Walsall, West Midlands, were each jailed for seven years after they admitted two charges of conspiring to commit commercial burglaries.

Some of the cash seized from the gang: It is thought they stole a total of £684,210 cash and £250,000 worth of high-end sports cars

Simon Phillips, 33, of Billesley, West Midlands, was jailed for five years and Darren Buckley, 35, of Acocks Green, Birmingham, was sentenced to five years, seven months.
Passing sentence, Judge Peter Tomlinson told them: 'The burglaries invariably involved the use of high performance motor cars that you or other accomplices were prepared to drive dangerously in order to avoid arrest.
'Those motor cars were very often stolen to order.
'In order to gain criminal access to those machines items of heavy duty cutting machinery such as circular saws were used.
'There was an added level of sophistication because of the way in which the protective devices were bypassed through the use of a template designed to guide the cutting equipment to the right part of the machine and counter the security devices fitted within it.
'The conspiracy involved the deliberate targeting of domestic and non-domestic premises, a significant degree of planning and organisation and the use of sophisticated equipment.
'Each case involved theft and damage that caused a great degree of economic and commercial loss to the victim.'
The court heard how the gang scoured the pages of Auto Trader to find people selling high-end second-hand sports cars locally.
They then traced the owners before stealing £250,000-worth of Audi and BMW sports cars which they used as getaway vehicles.

Kitted out: Cloned plates and tools recovered from a lock-up the gang were traced to

After targeting a cash point in Suffolk, the gang made off with £83,000 in cash. Security camera footage of one of the raids shows the masked group smashing through the automatic doors of a supermarket.
'The outer casing was smashed down using drills that had been used to gain entry, thereby exposing the safe that's part of the Automated Telling Machine,' said Neil Cartwright, prosecuting.
'They used petrol-driven circular saws usually employed to cut railway track. In total four such devices were used, each with a retail value of £1,500.
'On one occasion a pursuit was conducted at speeds just over 150mph. As far as police were concerned the offenders were making their getaway at an even higher speed.'

Caught on camera: A CCTV still capturing the gang entering the CO-OP in Stotfold, Bedfordshire, attacking the ATM with sawing equipment before emptying the it

Well equipped: The gang used heavy-duty circular saws designed to cut through railway lines

Safety first: On member stands back while sparks fly, as the circular saw cuts through the metal cage

They're in: The safe door opened, the robbers get their hands on the drum containing the money

Risky work: Another burst of the circular saw is used to free the drum from whatever is holding it in place

In the money: The case containing the cash is freed

Let's get out of here: The men make their getaway

One car, found after it was dumped following a chase, had been travelling so fast that its brake discs were still glowing red hot when it was discovered, added Mr Cartwright.
'Their determination was to outrun the police if necessary, even if that meant placing other road users at considerable risk,' the prosecutor said.
The getaway vehicles had been driven at such high speed that it was impossible to identify which of the men had been driving.
Just £83,000 of the stolen money was recovered, with a Proceeds of Crime hearing scheduled for later this year.