Three men jailed for combined 22 years and eight months for series of burglaries across North West

We are welcoming the sentencing of three men from south Sefton for a total of 22 years and eight months following an extensive investigation into burglaries across the North West.

Officers from our dedicated burglary team, Operation Castle, launched Operation Coliseum in order to investigate 37 separate burglaries between January 2021 and April 2022 at properties in Merseyside, Cheshire, Lancashire and North Wales.

The properties targeted on Merseyside included homes in Formby, Birkdale, Southport, Blundellsands and Hightown.

The organised crime group stole cash, jewellery, watches and vehicles worth hundreds of thousands of pounds.

Some of their thefts included a Mercedes car valued at £55,000 from a property in Cheshire, jewellery and handbags worth £60,000 from a property in Formby and jewellery worth £95,000 from an address in Blundellsands.

Three men appeared at Liverpool Crown Court on Thursday 22 December to be sentenced.

Adam Hastings, 31, originally from the Netherton area but no fixed abode, has been sentenced to ten years and nine months after pleading guilty to 35 separate offences.

Shaun Rimmer, 29, originally from the Netherton area but no fixed abode, has been sentenced to seven years and six months after pleading guilty to 22 separate offences.

Callum Martin, 33, from the Bootle area but no fixed abode, has been sentenced to four years and five months after pleading guilty to six separate offences.

They also pleaded guilty to three offences of being in possession of a firearm after they stole the weapon from the home of a victim who legally owned them.

Detective Inspector Darren Hankin said: “The sentencing of these three men has come on the back of an 18 month investigation where it was a huge team effort.

“There has been some exceptional investigative work that has led to these sentences, in particular the efforts of Detective Constable Neil Jones.

“The Op Castle team has spent considerable time carrying out enquiries in relation to these burglaries and I hope this sentencing brings some comfort to the victims.

“We understand that burglary often has a massive impact on victims. It can be a really personal and invasive crime and victims can struggle to come to terms with offenders having entered their homes and stolen personal items, which don’t always have huge monetary value, but on a personal level can be irreplaceable.

“Key to these successes can often be information from those communities targeted, so I would continue to ask people to report anything suspicious, and come forward with any information you may have seen or heard.

Always call 999 if a burglary is in progress. Anyone with information on burglary is asked to contact our dedicated email address on [email protected]. You can also pass information to the social media desk @MerPolCC, call 101 or you can call or the independent charity @CrimestoppersUK anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Operation Shepherd is Merseyside Police’s annual campaign to reduce crime and keep communities safe during the festive season.

It is our extensive force-wide operation involving a wide variety of teams, each with their own area of expertise, and they all play a part. You can expect to see more officers out and about on the run up to Christmas and into New Year.  

More information on Op Shepherd, which contains some great advice on how to #beattheburglar, can be found here: Operation Shepherd | Merseyside Police