Pubwatch helps net prolific pub burglars

A trio of men responsible for a spate of pub burglaries have been jailed thanks to the combined efforts of Hertfordshire Pubwatch and police.

Lee Dowsett, 30, of Scarborough Avenue in Stevenage, pleaded guilty to burglary or attempted burglary at 11 pubs.

His cousin Jason Dowsett, 41, of Winfield Mobile Home Park, Watford, pleaded guilty to 10 offences. The pair were sentenced to 30 months in prison each.

A third man, Roy Callaghan, 35, admitted two counts of burglary and 17 other offences. Due to his early plea he was given a probation order until May 2012 and ordered to attend a substance misuse and alcohol treatment programme for six months.

"We started linking these burglaries early on and formed a highly resourced and robust police response called Operation Abrupt," said Stevenage detective inspector Gary Atkinson.

"Each offence triggered an intense amount of police activity which was designed to capture all the available evidence at the earliest opportunity.

"We liaised with licensees across the county via Pubwatch and worked together to bring these offenders to justice.

"Once arrested, these defendants were handed over to a highly specialist interview team who were able to look at these crimes in retrospective detail.

"Some excellent work by the teams has resulted in these people being brought to justice. Since these arrests, this type of burglary has reduced dramatically."