TWO raiders jailed for a relentless £200,000 burglary campaign that blighted swathes of the west including south Wiltshire have had their sentences slashed.

Jesse Gregory, 51, and Joseph Butler, 26, were part of a highly organised crime gang that carried out over 70 commercial burglaries in Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Somerset in 2014.

They netted goods worth around £210,00, and caused damage valued at £500,000.

They smashed into the Stonehenge visitor centre, causing damage worth £40,000, and caused thousands in damage to the Shaw Trust charity in Old Sarum, stealing hundreds from its staff of disabled workers.

The judge who sentenced the gang last June said they had “wreaked havoc” leaving “a trail of wanton destruction”.

Gregory, of Brinkworth, was jailed for 10 years after admitting conspiracy to burgle. Butler, of Sandhurst, was handed a seven-year sentence after pleading guilty to the same charge.

But now both men have successfully challenged their sentences at London’s Appeal Court. Gregory’s sentence was cut to seven and a half years, and Butler’s to six years.

Lady Justice Thirlwall said the raiders targeted small businesses and institutions, including garden centres and sports and golf clubs.

“Their targets were generally found on the edge of rural towns,” she added.

Butler accepted being present during 33 burglaries, while Gregory was linked to vehicles used by the gang.

In one raid, a JCB was used to smash through an entrance so the gang could grab a safe.

The judge, sitting with Sir John Royce and Judge Melbourne Inman QC, said the pair had “scant mitigation”.

But Gregory had been handed more than the permitted maximum sentence and Butler had not been given enough credit for his guilty plea.

Barnaby Shaw, prosecuting, had told Swindon Crown Court the operation was ‘professional’ and ‘sophisticated’ with careful planning.

He said it was not possible to say who was the main player in the team which must have involved others who were not before the court.

The men were kitted out in masks and camouflage clothes and often approached their target by driving cross-country to avoid being seen on CCTV.

Generally using Subaru Forrester cars they would then cut their way through fences and force doors before jemmying safes from their mountings.

Slings attached to the back of the vehicle would then be put round the safes so they could be pulled out, smashing walls and doorways as they went.

Angle grinders were also used to cut into them either on the premises or after they had been taken away.

Although the cash haul from the raids was £211,484 a further £471,847 worth of damage was caused to the buildings.