A pair of travelling criminals who stole more than £12,500 worth of tools from work vans across Powys and Carmarthenshire have been sentenced – after police tracked one of them using his court-imposed GPS monitoring tag.

Dyfed-Powys Police said the first thefts were reported in Brecon and Builth Wells on July 17, when vans were broken into overnight and valuable tools stolen. Three vans were also damaged, leaving several tradespeople unable to work.

Further thefts were reported a week later in Newcastle Emlyn and Llandysul, and detectives linked all five incidents to the same vehicle seen in each area.

Officers discovered that Robbie Bate, 27, from Stourport-on-Severn, had checked into a hotel in St Clears on July 23 using that vehicle’s registration. He was in the company of Aston Amos, 35, from Bewdley, who was wearing a GPS monitoring tag.

Data from the tag placed Amos at each of the crime locations at the times the thefts happened, allowing detectives to build a timeline and request the pair’s arrest by West Mercia Police.

Both men admitted five counts of theft from vehicles and two counts of criminal damage.

At Swansea Crown Court on Friday, November 14, Amos was jailed for nine months. Bate received a nine-month sentence, suspended for two years, along with 160 hours of community service and a 12-week curfew.

Officer in case DC Carl Thomas said the investigation drew on “a huge amount of support” across the force.

“This was a strong investigation led by North Ceredigion CID with a huge amount of support from a number of departments across the force to apprehend two travelling criminals,” he said.

“Amos and Bate came into the Dyfed-Powys area with the aim of targeting vans that might contain valuable tools, working their way through two counties to acquire a vast number of items.

“Thankfully we have been able to recoup some of the stolen items for the victims, however these thefts will still have caused a loss of income and inconvenience for those affected.

“I hope the result of this investigation will send the message that we take these sorts of incidents seriously, and will work collaboratively to bring offenders to justice.”