A CALLANDS man has been jailed for 33 months for travelling to Devon to commit a £9,000 jewellery raid.

James Whitehead, of Lydbury Close, was one of a three strong gang who targeted a property in Crediton in July when the family who lived there were out.

Exeter Crown Court heard earlier this month he was caught when neighbours heard patio doors being smashed and saw a strange car in the driveway.

Police caught the 19-year-old after the gang abandoned their stolen car which crashed in Bridgwater, Somerset, after a chase in which a white van driver helped police to block the road.

Whitehead’s DNA was found on clothing in the boot.

John O’Leary, defending, said Whitehead comes from a respectable family and at one stage worked in his father’s angling shop.

He added Whitehead had fallen into bad company after failing to find a job but now has a job offer open to him.

Police are still hunting the other two men.