Four thieves who set up a secret 'chop shop' to strip down the vehicles they had stolen were foiled when satellite technology led police to the site.

The gang moved into a disused warehouse in Wickford and used it to dismantle four Ford Transits they stole in Thurrock.

But when they ventured further afield and stole a van at Witham they were unaware that the vehicle was fitted with an advanced tracking system.

The van’s owner was able to plot the route the vehicle took from outside the driver’s home in Witham, along the A12, on to the A130 and straight to the warehouse at Bruce Grove, Wickford.

Police went to the warehouse early the next morning and found two members of the gang stripping the stolen van and the remains of four other vehicles.

Danny Garwood, 30, of Josling Close, Grays, Warren Hampshire, 20, of Laird Avenue, Grays, Joe Higgs, 22, of Stephenson Road, Tilbury and Ryan Lee, 26, of Russell Road, Tilbury, appeared at Basildon Crown Court on September 30 and all admitted conspiracy to steal a motor vehicle.

Garwood was jailed for 30 months, Lee was jailed for to 18 months, Higgs was given a 10-month sentence and Hampshire was sentenced to 10 months detention at a young offender institution.

The court heard that the four men, all unemployed mechanics, stole three Transit vans and a Transit pick-up in Grays between September 29 and October 1, 2013.

The vehicles, all worth around £10,000 were taken from Bridge Road, Whitehall Lane, Arthur Road and High View Avenue.

All the vans were forced open at night and driven straight to the warehouse at Wickford.

Three of the men then drove to Witham in the early hours of October 3, 2013 and forced open a door of a Transit van parked in Hemmingway Road.

The driver discovered the theft at 5.30am and phoned his boss at Brentwood who checked the tracking system.

It showed that the van was stolen at 4.01am and arrived at the unit in Bruce Grove 32 minutes later.

Dc Chris Bailey of Grays CID who led the investigation, said: "This was a long and complex case because the four men originally pleaded not guilty and denied any involvement.

"But because the last vehicle stolen had the sophisticated tracking system which took us straight to the warehouse and the stolen vans we were able to link the men to all the offences.

"Faced with the evidence in court they entered guilty pleas and the judge gave them all custodial sentences.

!These thieves preyed on tradesmen and businesses who used the vehicles every day but thanks to GPS technology they are now behind bars."