A MAN used a stolen Porsche to ramraid a petrol station and steal £8,000-worth of cigarettes.

Dylan Taylor, 25, has been jailed for two-and-a-half years after being traced in an investigation by both Thames Valley and Gloucestershire police forces.

Taylor comes from Gloucestershire but targeted the Sportif Suzuki garage in Long Hanborough, west Oxfordshire.

Taylor used a Porsche Cayenne that had been stolen from a house in Great Close Road, Yarnton, for his raid on August 21, 2009.

He drove the vehicle into the front door of the petrol station in Main Road.

Two suspects were arrested in Cheltenham after an investigation by Thames Valley Police, working with officers from Gloucestershire Police, and Taylor was subsequently charged.

Petrol station owner John Boardman, 61, said: “It’s nice to see justice work.

“I think the sentence is long enough. It needs to be a deterrent more than anything else.

“It caused disruption for a few days. We had to have a new secure door put up on the forecourt and some building work done where the walls had cracked and of course to replace all the stock that had been stolen.

“The police picked him up on the same night or the next morning, which was pretty good.”

At the time of the theft, Mr Boardman estimated the damage at up to £6,000.

He said: “We may well look at putting bollards in front of the shop, but they’ll find a different way in, it’s a never-ending battle.”

Police said they had to use ‘cross-border co-operation’ to track down Taylor, who is of no fixed abode but was living in Gloucestershire.

Chief Inspector Jack Malhi said: “We have few residents who commit crime so we are very vulnerable to people coming from other parts of the county or other parts of the country and we do, from time to time, get people coming in and committing crime.

“In every area, you know your criminal and can monitor their movements. You can’t do that with people who are not living in the area.”

Taylor was sentenced to one year in prison for receiving stolen goods, namely the Porsche Cayenne car, and two-and-a-half years in prison for the burglary in Long Hanborough. The sentences are to be served concurrently.

Dc Ady Brooksbank said: “These charges are a result of the ongoing collaborative work between Thames Valley Police, Gloucestershire Police and West Mercia Police to tackle this cross border criminality.

“I believe this demonstrates how seriously the courts view this type of offence given that Taylor received full credit for his early admission of guilt.

“Thames Valley Police is committed to working with our neighbouring forces to ensure that offenders cannot hide across regional boundaries.”

jrivett@oxfordmail.co.uk