Two men who travelled 70 miles to steal more than £6,400 from a Powys supermarket's petrol station have been jailed

Ashley Owens and John Bishop both admitted the burglary at Welshpool Magistrates Court on January 5.

They were sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court today (Thursday, February 12)

Prosecuting Ms Kyra Badman said during the evening of January 1 at 10.30pm the two men carried out a reconnaissance trip to Tesco petrol station in Welshpool.

They returned to the filling station in Mill Lane at just before 1.30am on January 2 when they smashed in the bottom of a glass door and two safes before taking off with £6,395 in cash.

CCTV showed the men arrive on e-bikes, wearing dark clothing, face coverings and gloves, gain entry to the building, and remove cash from safes.

The smoke alarms were set off and Owens and Bishop left the scene..

Roads policing officers stopped a vehicle believed to be linked to the incident later that day, and two men were arrested. The van had also been spotted in the area at 8.14pm on January 1.

Two e-bikes were found in the back of the vehicle, along with clothes that matched those being worn by the suspects.

Owens, 41, of Crosfield Road, and Bishop, 36, of Ismay Street, both in Liverpool, were charged with burglary. Owens was also charged with possession of a small quantity of cocaine.

Ms Badman said the pair had conducted a search on Google maps of Tesco petrol stations including Welshpool.

She said although almost £6,400 was stolen, only £500 was seized from Owens and Bishop

In interview Owens gave no comment and Bishop was silent throughout his interview.

In a business impact statement, Ms Edwards for Tesco said damage had been caused to the door, two safes and the smoke alarm and they all had to be repaired. The petrol station had to close for a day leading to a huge loss in income and the incident left staff being wary about returning to work.

The court was told Owen has 19 convictions for 36 offences including dishonesty, theft, handling stolen goods and burglary and Bishop has 33 convictions for 58 offences including burglary and attempted burglary.

Mitigating for Owens, Ms Louise McCloskey said he has already been serving a term of imprisonment for previous driving offences.

She said Owens accepted there had been some planning but she said it amounted to a drive past, lots of people wear dark clothing and it was January when the incident happened.

Ms McCloskey said Owens had had many struggles and difficulties in his past and he says he is now motivated to deal with them especially substance misuse.

She said there were some signs of change for Owens.

Mitigating for Bishop, Ms Lucy Moran said he has an NVQ in joinery, tiling and building and is keen to get employment on his release.

He was raised by his grandparents from the age of two or three because his parents had drug issues but now he has a good relationship with his family and he has one child with another on the way.

Ms Moran said he was diagnosed with ADHD at a young age and was previously stabbed leading to Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

His Honour Judge Bryne sentenced Bishop to 28 months in prison and Owens to 24 months in prison for this burglary, although in total he was sentenced to 60 months, as he was also sentenced for a separate robbery on a man in 2023

The judge ordered the forfeiture of £500 seized from the men after the Tesco burglary, and the clothing and equipment used in the burglary. He also ordered the men to pay a victim surcharge.

DS Zoe Powell, of Powys CID, said: “This is an example of excellent work between a number of departments within Newtown and Headquarters who all contributed to these charges and early guilty pleas.

“Their work has undoubtedly curbed these travelling criminals from carrying out further offences.”