FOUR men who took part in raids on supermarkets have been jailed.

Leon Duffy, aged 22; Ryan Herrick, aged 23; Raymond Beaver, aged 27, and Michael Shortt, aged 25, were part of a gang which committed 53 robberies at 30 stores throughout the south east.

The gang stormed supermarket branches late at night, terrifying staff with knives and crowbars to steal a total of £364,000.

Their campaign saw them target 30 Sainsbury's stores including those in Beckenham, Bromley, Chislehurst, Locksbottom, Crayford, Greenwich and New Cross.

They also robbed eight other stores, including the Safeway in Twin Tumps Way, Thamesmead.

Blackfriars Crown Court heard the robbers were able to outrun police by using a fleet of fast cars, including a Jaguar and an Audi worth £70,000.

The crooks blew most of their money on holidays and clothes.

They were eventually caught by police outside a Sainsbury's store in Liss, Hampshire, in December last year, after a surveillance operation codenamed Operation Russia.

Duffy, of Sewell Road, Abbey Wood and Herrick, of Shooters Hill Road, Woolwich, who admitted involvement in 11 of the raids, were both jailed for 10 years.

Beaver, of Church Manorway, Abbey Wood, and Shortt, of Chalcombe Road, Abbey Wood, admitted being at five of the raids and were each jailed for nine years.

A fifth man, Karl Taylor, aged 22, of Shooters Hill Road, Woolwich, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to burgle and was sentenced to 30 months in prison.