THREE men who stole diesel from lorries across Lymm and Cheshire have been jailed.

The men, Mihalache Covasa, Tudorel Durbaca and Costel Durbaca, from Manchester, were imprisoned following a five day trial at Liverpool Crown Court.

The jury heard there had been an increase in these types of offences in early 2013, particularly around the A50 between Mere and Lymm and on the A556 between Tabley and Bowden.

Between 200 to 600 litres of diesel were stolen at a time from lorries while their drivers slept in the cab in lay-bys and dervice station car parks.

The three men were sentenced on December 13 at Liverpool Crown Court.

Mihalache Covasa, aged 45, previously of Oldham Road, Newton Heath, Manchester was found guilty of conspiring to steal from heavy goods vehicles. He was then sentenced to two years six months imprisonment.

Tudorel Durbaca, aged 49, also of Oldham Road, Newton Heath, Manchester was sentenced to two years and six months imprisonment.

Costel Durbaca, aged 44 also of Oldham Road, Newton Heath, Manchester was sentenced to two years imprisonment.

PC Mike Dawber, from the Knutsford Rural Neighbourhood Policing Team said: "They stole tens of thousands of litres of diesel from lorries parked up under the cover of darkness over a period of 15 months.

“They never thought about the consequences of their actions, and on a couple of occasions they completely emptied the fuel tanks of lorries, leaving lorries ad their drivers stranded in lay-bys and needing to be recovered to a garage."