TWO men have been jailed for a total of more than six years after they were part of a gang that stole almost a quarter of a million pounds of watches form a jewellery store in Basingstoke.

Callum Knox and Lee Gibbon were two members of the gang that used sledgehammers to smash their way into Beaverbrooks in Festival Place in February 2020.

They grabbed a large number of high-value watches and made off with the stolen goods - having using stolen vehicles on cloned number plates to travel from Southampton to Basingstoke to carry out the robbery.

They then cycled into the shopping centre.

When residents awoke the following morning, on Monday, February 24, they saw the glass of the town centre store smashed and sledgehammers laying on the floor, whilst police officers guarded the cordon.

The pair, identified as suspects after officers examined forensic evidence from the scene, appeared before Southampton Crown Court on Thursday, where they were jailed after admitting burglary other than in a dwelling.

Knox, 35, of Woodside Road, Eastleigh, was jailed for two years and nine months by Judge Peter Henry.

Gibbon, from Spring Road, Southampton, was jailed for two years and nine months. He was given a further three month sentence after he spat in a police officer's face in an unconnected assault. They will be served consecutively.

Three other members of the gang have already been jailed. They are: George Mason, 39, from Kingsdown Way, Southampton; Kurtis Lake, 24, from Cobbett Road, Southampton; and Jamie Dalton, 30, from Burgoyne Road, Southampton;

They were arrested at the scene.

Sledgehammers and a battering ram could be seen outside Beaverbrooks following the burglary, near to the Wote Street entrance to Festival Place, with numerous holes in the glass.

A bicycle was also seen on the floor, whilst watches were spotted dumped inside the cordon.