TWO men, one from Bradford, were jailed earlier today for a string of attacks on cash machines, blowing them up to steal £300,000 in a five month period.
They targeted Co-operative stores in the district to try and steal money, these are the incidents for which they were responsible.
Residents in Clayton, Cullingworth and Steeton will remember the loud explosions, fear and damage caused by the selfish, mindless criminals during their rampage between October 2017 and February 2018.
Fairburn, of Union Road, Low Moor, has been locked up for 12 years, while Penney, from Darlington, will be behind bars for 14 and a half years.
The sentence comes more than three years after the thugs terrorised communities in Bradford and caused thousands of pounds worth of damage to Co-op stores.
As well as three offences in Bradford, they also attacked Co-op stores in Huddersfield and Darlington.
November 10, 2017 – Cullingworth Co-operative
Residents of Greenside Lane were woken at half past midnight by a huge explosion at the Co-op, after Fairburn and Penney blew up the ATM fixed in the wall of the store.
The blast caused serious damage to the building, demolishing a wall and parts of the roof and signage.
The pair’s modus operandi was to feed gas into the cash machine and using it to blow up the ATM, before moving in to plunder as much cash as they could and making their getaway.
Jean Capuvanno, who lived yards from the shop, said: “"It was like a bomb going off – it really frightened me.
"As soon as I heard it I thought 'that's the Co-op'.
"I went outside to see what was happening and neighbours were coming out too. Everyone had heard it.
"Obviously it was dark so you couldn't see a lot but it's left a right mess."
Next-door neighbour Sue Brown added: "I was fast asleep but it was so loud. I could feel my bed shake. It was really frightening."
November 23, 2017 – Steeton Co-operative
Less than two weeks later the pair struck again, this time at the Co-op store in Skipton Road, Steeton, not far from Airedale Hospital.
The ATM kiosk outside the story was blown to pieces in the blast, which occurred just after 2am, with the “huge explosion” waking up neighbours.
Pieces of the kiosk and ATM machinery were scattered some distance across the site, demonstrating the size of the explosion.
Christine Jones, 67, who lived nearby, said: “I was just woken up by this big bang. I sleep at the back of the house where it’s normally quiet.
“I thought someone had crashed into something.”
Another resident described seeing a car speeding off from the scene shortly after.
January 5, 2018 – Clayton Co-operative
Fairburn and Penney’s final act in Bradford was at the store in Town End Road, and this time they left their tools behind.
The annex in which the ATM was situated was destroyed in the blast, which blew the door and roof off and damaged some brickwork.
Left at the scene were two gas canisters, hooked up to a car battery, with tubes attached which fed into the front of the ATM, used to pump gas in to cause the explosion.
The blast, at 1.30am, sent stone flying into people’s gardens and leaving the small annex ablaze.
At Leeds Crown Court today the pair admitted their crimes and were jailed, following an extensive investigation by Yorkshire and Humber Regional Organised Crime Unit.
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