Three men jailed after Formby cash machine theft
Three men from Liverpool have been jailed today, Tuesday 5 May, for a series of cash machine thefts across different counties and stealing emergency cutting equipment used to save peoples’ lives.
Twins Carl and Lee Kettle, 40 years, and Barry Dillon, 45 years, were sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court after pleading guilty at an earlier hearing to conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to steal.
Officers carried out an 18-month investigation leading to the arrest of the Kettle twins and Dillon.
They into targeted attacks on cash machines at supermarkets and the theft of high-powered cars and emergency services cutting equipment in Merseyside, Cheshire, Greater Manchester and Nottinghamshire.
The offences took place between January 2020 and April 2025 at Sainsburys in Burton, Nottingham, Upton and Walton, Asda in Bootle, Tesco in Rochdale, Woolton and Allerton, Tesco Express in Tarbock, Shell garage in Edge Hill, The One Stop Shop in Fleetwood, and Tesco Extra in Formby and Chorley.
At the sentencing today the three offenders received the following:
Carl Kettle, of Avis Walk in Fazakerley was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison
Lee Kettle, of Cartwrights Farms Road in Speke was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison
Barry Dillon, of Galbraith Close in Aigburth was sentenced to three years and eight months in jail
David Brunskill, who led the investigation, said: “This was clearly a well-planned operation where the Kettle twins and Dillon caused considerable damage stealing cash machines at supermarkets across multiple counties. This meant the supermarket not only losing thousands of pounds of money but also costly repairs to the building and replacing the cash machines.
“They also stole emergency cutting equipment from fire stations which are used in critical incidents to save people’ lives. This was also an expense to the public purse to replace such items.
“Business theft is not a victimless crime, and especially businesses which provide an important service for the community.”
Merseyside Fire and Rescue Assistant Chief Fire Officer Ged Sheridan added: “Every piece of equipment on a fire engine is there for a reason - to help us save lives.
“Stealing emergency service equipment from fire stations risks preventing firefighters from helping someone in a life-threatening situation. We welcome the sentencing and hope it sends a clear message that crimes against emergency services endanger the public.”
A dedicated portal where people can send CCTV, smart doorbell or dashcam footage of suspicious activity in your area but don’t know if it is linked to a specific offence. It can be uploaded here: https://unitedkingdom1cpp-portal.digital-policing.co.uk/merseyside/appeal/castle
You can report criminal activity by contacting Merseyside Police social media desk via X @MerPolCC or on Facebook ‘Merseyside Police Contact Centre. You can also report information via our website: https://www.merseyside.police.uk/ro/report/ocr/af/how-to-report-a-crime/ or call 101.
Alternatively, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, or via their website here: https://crimestoppers-uk.org/give-information/forms/give-information-anonymously.
Allow YouTube content?
This page contains content provided by YouTube. We need your permission before anything is loaded as they may be using cookies and other technologies. You may want to read YouTube's cookie policy and privacy policy before accepting. Please choose 'accept and continue' to view this content.
We're not responsible for the content of external sites.
Pictured left to right: Carl and Lee Kettle and Barry Dillon sentenced for cash machine thefts across multiple counties.