11:04am Tuesday 20th July 2010
By Alex Hill
THREE Borehamwood men who stole more than £11,000 worth of railway track to sell as scrap metal have received suspended prison sentences.
A total of 38 tonnes of metal was taken from Kings Langley train station and loaded onto two flat bed trucks to be delivered to a scrap yard in the north of England, in Stockton-on-Tees.
The three friends with connections to Network Rail, Stephen Jackson, Kendall Commins and Adam Bell planned to steal the track which had been lifted as part of a renewal of the line in June 2008.
However, thanks to an eagle-eyed Network Rail employee travelling the other way on the M1 the metal valued £11,400 from the Kings Langley station never reached its destination.
Senior contract and commercial manager, employed by Network Rail, Jonathan Pain, was stuck in traffic on the morning of June 5, 2008, when he saw the flatbed lorry with its stolen cargo travelling the other way.
He instantly recognised the load as scrap track, which aroused Mr Pain’s suspicions as only a handful of firms are used to transport such material.
Mr Pain rang the number on the side of the lorry and put his concerns to the haulage boss, who took his advice and had the load diverted to his yard.
Bell, 31, of Alban Crescent, Borehamwood; Jackson, 31, of Morpeth Avenue, Borehamwood, and Commins, 39, of Northgate Path, Borehamwood, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to steal after making denials on arrest or refusing to answer questions.
Gavin Pottinger, for the prosecution, said plans for the theft originated from inside knowledge of Jackson and Bell, who had both been previously employed by companies under contract to Network Rail to undertake track renewal work.
Commins, was enlisted to help “execute the plan” and his car was caught in Kings Langley by ANPR (Automatic number plate recognition) cameras the day the track was loaded up.
The three were also linked by phone evidence from their mobiles, which showed an unusual amount of contact between them leading up to the theft.
Mr Pottinger said: “In short the evidence points to each of these defendants playing their part in the agreement to steal the track from Kings Langley Railway Station.”
Passing sentence at St Albans Crown Court Friday, Judge Marie Catterson said the thefts were a “clear breach of trust”.
Bell received 10 months’ imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. He was ordered to carry out 150 hours unpaid work and must comply with a curfew.
Jackson received a nine-month suspended sentence. He must also do 150 hours unpaid work.
Both men were ordered to pay £1,000 towards the prosecution costs.
Commins received a five-month suspended sentence and must do 100 hours unpaid work.
He was given a specified activity requirement to help with his education difficulties.
No costs were awarded due to his lack of means.
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