Bank robber caught out by personalised BMW number plate

Bank robber James Snell has been caught by police because of the personalised number plate on his BMW car that he used to stake out his target in Cardiff.

Telegraph UK 

7:55AM BST 28 Sep 2009

Snell drove his car with the registration "J4MES" to set up the £100,000 raid on a Halifax branch.

His gang of four robbers was caught when a witness remembered admiring the distinctive plate on the blue BMW - and gave details to police.

Snell, 26, and his brother Wayne, 34, were traced to their hideaway and found red-handed with more than £30,000 of the cash in bank-notes.

The number plate blunder was revealed when Wayne was jailed for eight years for robbery. James will be sentenced later.

The gang decided to use heavy metal drain covers to smash their way into a Halifax branch in Roath, Cardiff.

They set off in James Snell's BMW to plan the bank heist - including watching the branch and planning their getaway.

But Cardiff Crown Court heard they were spotted by a passer-by who remembered the J4MES number plate because it stood out.

"A witness saw a passenger lean out, lift a drain cover from the road and the car drove off," Prosecutor Tim Evans said.

"Lee Norville, who works for the council's highways department, later identified one of the two covers used to smash the windows at a branch of Halifax as coming from that drain. It is clear their arrogance contributed to their undoing."

Cash was being delivered to the Halifax branch by the security guards just before midnight when the gang struck.

Two Group 4 Securicor workers were refilling the bank's cash machine ready for business the next morning when they were confronted by men dressed in dark clothing and balaclavas.

Two used the drain covers to smash through the glass while a third armed with a bat shouted threats.

The gang took a total of £104,910 - all in £10 and £20 notes. The empty cash boxes were later found dumped in woods.

The car, with its distinctive number plate, was spotted outside a rented home in Whitchurch, Cardiff.

Fellow gang member Carl Campion, 44, of Birmingham, denied robbery but was found guilty and was jailed for 12 years.

The Snell brothers admitted robbery along with accomplice Adam Abbot, 38, of Hyde, Manchester. Abbot and James Snell will be sentenced at a later date.

Judge Gareth Jones said it was a "professional, sophisticated, pre-planned robbery on commercial premises" - and that £70,000 is still missing.

After the case, Detective Inspector Paul Andrews, of South Wales Police, said: "I would like to thank people who contacted us with information including the details of the car number plate."