Two members of a gang who had carried out a terrifying raid in North Yorkshire were found hiding in a hot tub.
Moments later, their accomplice was found concealed in a nearby trailer.
They have now been jailed for a total of almost 30 years thanks to a cross-border police investigation into high-value car thefts.
Ryan Wilkinson, 25, of St Edwins Drive, Dunscroft, Cyle Jenkins, 23, of Princess Avenue, Stainforth, and Adrian Askin, 28, of Poplar Road, Skellow, targeted Audi and Volkswagen vehicles in North Yorkshire.
Just after 11.30pm on 21 October 2024, police received a report of a terrifying burglary at a home in Camblesforth, Selby.
Three masked men had entered a home after banging on the door, shouting ‘It’s the police’, while threatening to force entry if the door wasn’t opened.
Once inside, the offenders violently assaulted the victim in front of her frightened elderly mother, demanding the key to her Audi RS3.
Although the group managed to locate the car keys and start the vehicle, the victim, despite being punched in the face, refused to provide the code to her immobiliser that she had installed.
The offenders fled empty handed.
The following evening, the group struck again in the Gilberdyke area of East Yorkshire, threatening the householder with his own air rifle, and the Carlton area of North Yorkshire.
After the Carlton burglary, police located the stolen vehicles heading towards Austerfield, Doncaster.
After officers used a stinger to deflate the tyres, the suspectst fled on foot in a housing estate.
As officers from the three forces began searching the area, with support of the National Police Air Service helicopter, an eagle-eyed member of public reported seeing males in a nearby hot tub.
Footage released by North Yorkshire Police shows the moment that Wilkinson and Askin were tracked to a garden by a police dog unit where they were found soaking wet, hiding under a hot tub lid, while Jenkins was discovered concealed in a trailer in the same garden.
The three later pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary in Carlton, burglary in Gilberdyke, and two counts of theft of a motor vehicle.
In a Victim Impact Statement read out in court, the victim of the Camblesforth burglary described how her immediate concern upon opening the door to three masked men was for the safety of her elderly mother and she described how the events of that night continue to haunt her.
“When I opened the door to see those three men stood there in balaclavas, it gives me nightmares, and I have had nightmares. I will never forget what happened that night,” she said.
Her mother also recalled the terrifying events of that night, describing how she still wakes in the night, reliving the moment one of the masked men struck her daughter. “I just remember his eyes, it was so frightening,” she said
“It often plays on my mind, and I know that that night will live with me for the rest of my life.”
In his statement, the victim of the Carlton burglary told how, despite being threatened with a firearm, his primary concern was for his dog, which one of the masked men was swinging at with a crowbar.
He described how the incident has profoundly affected his sense of safety and changed the way he feels and behaves day to day. “The incident really shook me up. I would always be looking over my shoulder, paranoid someone was about, I was never like this before but because of what happened, it’s changed how I feel and behave,” he said.
Following sentencing, Detective Constable Alex Dorlin from North Yorkshire Police, said:
“These were terrifying and traumatic experiences for the victims of these burglaries, whose sense of safety in their own homes has been shattered, and the impact of which will be felt for a very long time.
“The bravery of the first victim, who withheld her immobiliser code, ultimately set off a chain of events that led to the group’s arrest the following night. I hope today’s sentences offer some closure that those responsible have been brought to justice. “
