Man who stole two vans jailed

A man who stole two vans in Stoke-on-Trent has been jailed.

Christopher Pedley, 41, from Bentilee, was sentenced to two-and-a-half-years after he pleaded guilty to a number of theft offences between November and December last year (2022).

He stole two Mitsubishi trucks from addresses in Longton and Milton, as well as £1,500 worth of tools from inside. Then, he broke into a Ford Transit in Upper Tean and took a tyre compressor and a battery pack from inside.

He was arrested on 23 December 2022 in connection with the thefts and later admitted them in court.

Pedley was sentenced at Stoke-on-Trent Crown Court on Wednesday (14 June) for driving while disqualified, using a motor vehicle on the road without insurance, driving a motor vehicle taken without the owner’s consent, two counts of theft from a motor vehicle and two counts of theft of a motor vehicle.

As part of his sentencing, he was disqualified from driving for more than five years and ordered to pay a surcharge of £228.

PC Isobel Alkins, of Stoke South local policing team, said: “Pedley’s offending was causing a large amount of disruption within the local community and I’m happy he’s now serving justice.

“I hope this serves as a reminder that those who seek to steal in Staffordshire will be proactively targeted and brought before the courts.”