A gang of burglars raided the supermarket armed with an angle grinder and sledgehammer during a £1.3m crime spree
Barry Dillon, of Galbraith Close, aged 45(Image: Merseyside Police)
A burglar sped down Queens Drive at 100mph in a stolen Audi before causing a head-on crash after raiding a Sainsbury’s supermarket with an angle grinder and sledgehammer. Barry Dillon and identical twins Carl and Lee Kettle broke into fire stations and stole equipment which they then used to smash into cash machines.
The “extremely audacious” £1.3m, five-year crime spree also saw the three-man team steal “high powered” Audis and BMWs from the driveways of homes, vehicles which they then used to speed away from the scene of their crimes. This resulted in an innocent member of the public being injured in a head-on crash.
Liverpool Crown Court heard this week that Dillon and the Kettle brothers committed a “series of highly sophisticated and well planned burglaries of commercial premises across the north west and beyond” in order to steal from ATMs. This typically saw them target cash machines at 14 supermarkets, including Asda on Strand Road in Bootle, Tesco stores in Allerton, Woolton, Formby and Tarbock and Sainsbury’s in Upton, Wirral, as well as striking at a Shell garage on Edge Lane.
Henry Riding, prosecuting, said the gang also broke into five fire stations in both Merseyside and Warrington in order to steal specialist cutting equipment, with the first coming at Belle Vale Fire Station in January 2020. These tools were used in supermarket burglaries between September 2022 and February 2025 as far afield as Lancashire, Greater Manchester, Staffordshire and Nottinghamshire.
The plot also involved the theft of a number of “high powered vehicles” for use as getaway cars from five homes in Liverpool. The burglars carried out reconnaissance missions where ATMs had previously been removed and the holes covered over. Two “notably shorter” burglars, seemingly the Kettles, carried out the thefts while Dillon acted as the driver.
Lee Kettle, of Lambton Road, aged 40(Image: Merseyside Police)
The raids happened close to motorways and main roads to allow for a speedy escape, which resulted in one member of the public being injured during a head-on collision and a crash involving a police car during a pursuit on another occasion. The burglars were “clearly forensically aware” and used “adapted Ocean Spray fruit juice cartons” to disable infrared sensors.
Cash to the value of £1,295,105 was stolen from cash machines, although around £700,000 worth had to be abandoned after being contaminated with dye packs, meaning that they ultimately only took home £552,675 of this sum. They were said to have stolen £64,305 of equipment in a burglary at one fire station alone, with the six stolen cars being valued at £214,100.
Forty-year-old Carl Kettle, of Avis Walk in Fazakerley, has a total of 14 previous convictions for 27 offences, with his last appearance coming in 2016 as he received 48 months for being concerned in the supply of class A drugs and dangerous driving. Charles Lander, defending, said: “Carl Kettle has been remanded since the 13th of June 2025, nearly 11 months now. He has applied his time constructively. He has completed various courses. His keen wish is, once he is released from this sentence, to lead a law-abiding life.
“He worked for seven years as a stonemason and is hoping to work again on his release. He has four children with two different partners. He knows that he has let his children and the mothers of his children down by his conduct.”
Carl Kettle, of Avis Walk, aged 40(Image: Merseyside Police)
Lee Kettle, also 40 and of Lambton Road in Aigburth, has 14 convictions for 24 offences but only one since 2007, dangerous driving in 2025. His counsel Brendan Carville told the court: He demonstrated, for 13 years, that he is capable of keeping out of trouble. He had a good work ethic. He has been in a long term partnership with his partner, and they have three young children. He knows what he has done.”
Dillon, of Galbraith Close in Aigburth, was previously locked up for six years for robbery and aggravated vehicle taking in 2010, forming part of a criminal record extending to 13 prior convictions for 28 offences. His barrister Frank Dillon asked that the 45-year-old’s latest sentence be reduced to take account of a 36-month term which he was handed in November 2024, relating to a break-in at Sainsbury’s on Rice Lane which formed part of the same case.
The same court heard on this occasion that Merseyside Police received reports of a number of males attacking the cash machine at the Walton supermarket shortly before 1.30am on September 29 2024. The burglars drove off in an stolen Audi and were pursued onto Queens Drive, reaching speeds in excess of 100mph.
The car was driven through a red light at the junction of Prescot Road and went into the opposite carriageway as it turned onto Thingwall Road. It continued at speed towards Childwall Road before crashing into another vehicle at the junction of Lance Lane and Heathfield Road. Dillon ran away carrying a black rucksack and was arrested in a nearby garden.
The keys to the Audi, which was being driven on false registration plates, were found on him, with several “heavy duty tools”, including an angle grinder and a sledgehammer. He claimed in a pre-sentence report that he had been asked to act as a lookout.
Barry Dillon, of Galbraith Close, aged 45(Image: Merseyside Police)
Mr Dillon added during his client’s latest court appearance on Tuesday: “Because Barry Dillon was incarcerated in November 2024, he cannot have been involved in all of the offences.”
All three defendants admitted conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to steal cash. The Kettle brothers were each handed six years and eight months behind bars, while Dillon was jailed for three years and eight months.
Sentencing, Judge Garrett Byrne said: “During that period of time, you planned and executed a high number of well planned and sophisticated burglaries, targeting commercial premises in the north west and, in particular, targeting ATMs. To put it mildly, your conduct was extremely audacious.
“The modus operandi was to steal specialist cutting equipment and high powered motor vehicles, then reconnoitre commercial premises, cut open the ATMs and escape the scene quickly. In some cases, significant damage was caused during the course of the burglaries. In some cases, vehicles were driven dangerously to escape apprehension, and people were injured during the course of the pursuits.”