Two men who stole nearly £10,000 of cigarettes, alcohol and cash in an early morning raid on a petrol station have been jailed for 16 months each at St Albans Crown Court.

According to the Hertfordshire Mercury, Grant Hames and Malcolm Guyton broke into BP’s Howe Green Filling Station in Buntingford in the early hours of Sunday March 5.

Wearing gas masks, they forced the metal shutter up at the back of the kiosk, causing £5,000 of damage as they took £9,000-worth of cigarettes, £300-worth of wine and £300 in cash.

Clear images of the men’s faces were caught on CCTV during a failed raid on an Esso service station in Stevenage, an hour earlier. They left that forecourt with nothing after they were overcome by smoke which went off when they forced the doors of the shop open.

Guyton has 10 previous convictions for 23 offences while Hames has 26 previous convictions for 63 offences.