Trailer trash
Four Irish Traveller men, thought to have been responsible for almost half the country's caravan thefts over a three-year period have been convicted and remanded in custody. Following a three-month trial at Winchester Crown Court the men were found guilty last week of conspiracy to steal, but cleared of money laundering.
Charlie Ward, 27, Martin Ward, 21, John McDonagh, 31, and Martin McDonagh, 29 - all members of the same Irish family - were found to be in possession of nearly £1million in stolen goods. Their haul included £970,000 of stolen caravans, cars and motorhomes, jewellery and cash.
Photographs of the goods seized clearly show items highly valued by the Gypsy and Traveller community, including boxing glove pendants and Crown Derby china. Many of the victims are thought to be from the Gypsy and Traveller community.
The court heard the Ward-McDonagh family began stealing caravans from driveways and motorway service stations in 2004.
After they were found guilty of two counts of conspiring to steal, Detective Inspector Matt Davey, from Wiltshire Police, revealed officials from the insurance industry reported a 47 per cent drop in national caravan thefts following the gang's 2007 arrest.
He said: 'The evidence for the court focused on around 50 offences relating to caravan theft but there were many other offences we considered and did not pursue due to insufficient evidence.
'These crimes were undoubtedly part of a larger operation. The defendants are all related to one another and used to travel the country. Their crimes were committed throughout Britain.
'We started the investigation after a spate of local offences but it soon became apparent there were further thefts throughout the United Kingdom.
'Immediately after the arrests we noticed a massive drop in caravan thefts. These convictions have made a significant impact.'
Nineteen police forces were involved in the operation to catch the gang, culminating in a raid on their site in Gloucester in March 2007.
However caravan thefts continued, including six from motorway service stations on the M3 and M40 in August alone, and 120 officers from Wiltshire Police carried out a raid on a second site near Swindon in October 2007.
They found £970,000 of stolen goods including £70,000 cash, vehicles worth £700,000, £100,000 of jewellery, £80,000 of china and £20,000 of crystal.
Nine alleged members of the gang were arrested following the raid and then charged in relation to a total of 53 thefts - 37 of which involved caravans.
Detective Inspector Davey said: 'This has been a long and complex investigation into crimes committed nationwide, crimes which have had a serious and prolonged effect on victim's lives and I hope today's verdict offers some consolation.
'The court has heard how this wasn't simply the thefts of caravans but also the theft of people's personal and often irreplaceable possessions.
'Close to £1million worth of property including vehicles, cash, jewellery, china and crystal were recovered as part of this investigation and it is evident that this group had a profound effect on theft claims within the insurance industry, who reported a 47 per cent reduction in caravan theft in the year following their arrest.'
The men have been remanded in custody and will be sentenced on March 3rd.