GUILTY: Land Rover gang who stole £600k of vehicles - including from Shropshire border
The vehicles were taken to a ‘chop shop’ in Bristol
A gang of men who stole 33 Land Rover Defenders across six police force areas have been locked up.
The four were each convicted of conspiracy to commit theft of vehicles between September 2024 and May 2025.
The charges related to the thefts of 34 vehicles including Land Rovers that were worth more than £600,000 from the West Mercia, Gloucestershire, Dyfed Powys, Sussex, Avon & Somerset and Devon & Cornwall force areas.
Three of the men changed their pleas to guilty at a trial at Hereford Crown Court that concluded today and were convicted and sentenced.
Leonard Hodgkins, 50, of Marlborough Gardens, Malvern, was jailed for four years and nine months, Jimmy Butler, 41, of Pershore Lane, Hindlip, was jailed for three years and eight months, and Benjamin Hobbs, 35, of Beesmoor Road, Bristol, was jailed for four years and four months.
David Hodgkins, 40 of The Furlong, Powick, previously pleaded guilty to the same charges on Monday, December 8, 2025.
He was also today jailed for three years.
The gang targeted high value Land Rover Defenders over an eight-month period.
The stole from the Shropshire and Mid Wales border at Churchstoke, as well as Clyro in Powys, Tenbury Wells, Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire, Suckley in Worcestershire, Malvern, Bromyard, Droitwich, Hartpury in Gloucestershire, Storridge in Herefordshire, Newent in Gloucestershire, Norton in Worcestershire, Bath, Cheltenham, Bredon in Gloucestershire, and Kingsland in Herefordshire.
An investigation called ‘Operation Liondale’ was launched by West Mercia Police following the arrest of Jimmy Butler in November 2025.
During his arrest, distinctive items of clothing were found in his caravan that had been seen in CCTV of the suspects committing the offences.
His co-conspirators were arrested on November 11, 2025, and mobile phones seized were used to prove they travelled in convoy with the stolen vehicles and the mission vehicles, which included a blue Toyota Yaris and, later, a red VW Golf.
Hobbs owned a workshop in Bristol that was used as a ‘chop shop’ - an illegal enterprise that deals in stolen car parts - where the stolen Land Rovers were taken by the other conspirators.
Parts from the stolen cars, documents and a jacket from one of the vehicles were found by officers in the chop shop - some of which were identified by the owners or confirmed by using the keys in the "bulkheads" of the vehicles.
ANPR and phone forensics linked Holmes and Hobbs and their business to the other conspirators and the stolen vehicles.
Detective Sergeant Mark Jones, who was the lead investigator for Operation Liondale, said: “This was a complex but ultimately successful investigation that tracked down and prosecuted this gang of car thieves, so we are pleased to get these sentences today as their criminality harmed many people in our force area and neighbouring forces too.
“We know it often seems like car thieves get away with it, but we hope this result shows we will always work hard to bring these offenders before the courts and try to halt the impact their actions have on our communities.”