A FAMILY who formed part of an armed masked gang and targeted shops across South Wales in a series of “brazen” heists to steal cigarettes have been put behind bars.

Sarah Heard was part of a Newport crew, who, along with her 17-year-old son Jordan Vlite, her brother Joshua Heard and boyfriend Justin Woolfall, smashed their way into stores or made attempts at break-ins.

Prosecutor Andrew Davies told Cardiff Crown Court how police enquiries are ongoing over three other gang members.

He showed CCTV footage to Judge Jeremy Jenkins of masked men armed variously with hammers, crowbars and even rocks, smashing their way into shops, or attempting burglaries, at stores on 11 occasions in Monmouthshire, Newport, Caerphilly and Rhondda Cynon Taf.

The stores were in residential areas and most raids occurred in the early hours of the morning and some included confrontations with members of staff and members of the public and resulted in £48,000 of cigarettes and tobacco being stolen.

They were eventually caught after a botched attack on the Hillcroft Garage on Chepstow Road in Langstone, Newport, when owner Andrew Williams chased the gang in his BMW after the alarm was activated before they crashed into him and Woolfall and Joshua Heard confronted him with baseball bats.

They fled but it led police to the duo and getaway driver Sarah Heard who were soon arrested.

Mr Davies said: “This case involves an organised gang that, between June 2017 and March this year, systematically attacked a number of shops in the South Wales area.

“They concentrated exclusively on obtaining cigarettes and avoided the tills or alcohol.”

The most besieged store was the Co-operative in Magor which was targeted no less than five times.

The gang also had their sights on the One Stop Shop in Usk and the Co-op in Llanharan twice and the Co-op in Nelson and the Hillcroft Garage on one occasion each.

Woolfall, 38, of Commercial Road, Newport, dubbed the “prime mover” by Judge Jenkins, and who has 32 convictions for 75 offences, admitted conspiracy to burgle and affray, and was jailed for four years.

His girlfriend Sarah Heard, 37, also of Commercial Road, Newport, also admitted conspiracy to burgle, aggravated vehicle taking of her sister’s boyfriend car, and dangerous driving.

She had no previous convictions and was jailed for 27 months.

Joshua Heard, 21, of Corporation Road, Newport, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle and affray and was also jailed for 27 months.

Vlite, also of Commercial Street, Newport, who has previous convictions for burglary, assault and aggravated vehicle taking, admitted conspiracy to burgle and was sentenced to eight months youth custody.

Judge Jenkins lifted reporting restrictions so that he could be named.

Mother and son wept during their sentencing and had to be separated as they hugged before Sarah Heard was taken to the cells.

Scott Bowen, mitigating for Woolfall, asked the judge to take into account his guilty pleas.

Gareth Williams represented both Heards and Vlite.

He said Sarah Heard had already spent four months in custody on remand and had shown “genuine remorse”.

For Joshua Heard and Vlite, he said they had only played a “subordinate part” in the conspiracy.