Latest news with #BristolStreetMotors
BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Sunderland garage burglars led police on stolen car pursuits
Two burglars who led police on highspeed pursuits in stolen vehicles and caused thousands of pounds worth of damage when they raided car garages have been jailed for about three Gary Johnson, 34, and Michael Anthony Pemberton, 41, targeted multiple dealerships around north-east England before being caught stealing a car and van from a workshop in Durham, Newcastle Crown Court driving caused "grave danger to other people", Judge Julie Clemitson pair from Sunderland admitted dangerous driving, driving while disqualified and burglary, as well as stealing hundreds of pounds worth of goods from various shops. Police officers found the pair, both of whom had multiple previous convictions for burglary, breaking into Bristol Street Motors in Carrville at about 01:00 GMT on 25 February, prosecutor Neil Jones men had smashed their way into the office and stolen keys for numerous vehicles which were there to be worked on by mechanics, with Johnson then driving away in a Ford Kuga and Pemberton in a Ford Transit van, the court heard. Johnson, of Roker Avenue, used his car to ram through a barrier and, pursued by police, headed on to the A690, the court was pulled into the car park at Ramside Hall Hotel to close the bonnet, which had flown up in the barricade crash, then rammed a police car to get back out on to the then drove the wrong way up a dual carriageway before crashing into trees, ran on to the A19 where he narrowly missed being hit by a car and was found hiding in bushes by a police drone, Mr Jones of Edward Burdis Street, drove the van directly at an officer, who had to jump out of the way, before ramming through a barrier and out on to the A690 towards Sunderland, the court could see smoke coming from the van and a tyre appeared to be shredded during the 15 minute, nine mile-long (14km) pursuit, before police blocked it in and arrested Pemberton, the court officers suffered minor injuries when their vehicles were struck by the stolen vehicles, Mr Jones said. They both replied no comment in their interviews before asking for several other garage burglaries, committed between 15 and 17, February to be taken into included:The theft of and subsequent extensive damage to two cars worth a total of £80,000 from Lookers Nissan in Gateshead£2,000 worth of damage to a BMW dealership in Boldon Damage worth £50,000 to a Mercedes which was crashed into a bollard during its attempted theft from Stoneacre Toyota in Sunderland£10,000 worth of damage to two vehicles at Evans Halshaw Nissan in SunderlandDamage and loss worth £12,000 by Johnson stealing a diagnostics laptop from Wearside Audi in Sunderland The men were subject to court orders and suspended sentences at the time of the spree, Mr Jones men also admitted using bricks to smash their way into Tesco Express in Fulwell on 4 November, stealing £1,000 worth of alcohol and vapes, and fleeing with two vacuum cleaners worth about £620 from Asda in Boldon on 25 pair also caused £700 worth of damage and stole £600 worth of alcohol and vapes from the Co-op in South Shields on 6 January, the court heard. Previous chances Johnson, who was found with a wrap of cocaine in his sock, asked for 10 further burglaries to be taken into account and Pemberton for six, the court included thefts worth at least £2,000 from shops in Boldon, Gateshead, Whitburn and South Shields, the court Clemitson said she had previously given both men a chance of "wiping the slate clean" and to get help for their drug and alcohol addiction, but they had quickly gone on to commit many more was jailed for three years one month and banned from driving for six years 11 was jailed for two years 11 months and banned from driving for six years five months. Follow BBC North East on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram.
Sky News
06-02-2025
- Automotive
- Sky News
Vertu Motors cuts jobs and Sunday opening after budget and electric car target hits
The country's third largest car retailer says it is cutting jobs and closing its dealerships on a Sunday as part of efforts to cut costs amid tough trading and looming budget tax hikes. Vertu Motors, which has almost 200 sites operating predominantly under the Bristol Street Motors, Vertu and Macklin Motors brands, made the announcement while revealing an unscheduled profit warning. The company said its bottom line had taken a big hit amid steep discounting industry wide in a bid to meet a government target for sales of new electric vehicles - the so-called ZEV mandate. Vertu, which employs 8000 staff, also pointed to a £10m rise in costs from budget tax rises due to take effect in April. The ZEV mandate is the main gripe for the new car industry. It demands a rising proportion of total sales come from zero-emission vehicles each year. It was 22% in 2024 and rises to 28% this year. There are currently stiff penalties for missing that target. 2:35 It was missed last year amid the tough economy and industry pressure has forced a review. The government has been looking at what help it can give to aid the transition since Vauxhall's owner moved to cut costs by announcing plans to close its Luton plant in April. Vertu warned on Thursday that because price cuts to attract sceptical electric buyers were likely to continue this year, it expected further pressure on margins and for sales volumes to remain depressed given the continuing squeeze on household budgets. 0:56 The exact numbers of jobs affected by the company's spending cuts was unclear. It is understood that while a small number of roles have already been axed, Vertu would not seek to fill jobs vacated through natural churn in the months ahead. Vertu said it expected £4m in one-off costs to aid its long-term savings. Those costs also included a move to bring all its brands under the Vertu name. The company said in its statement that adjusted profit before tax for the year ending 28 February 2025 would be "significantly below current market expectations". That consensus figure stood at £34.5m in December. Shares fell by more than 7%. Robert Forrester, Vertu's chief executive, told investors: "The Group's high margin aftersales business is performing strongly. "However, the Government's ZEV Mandate is causing severe disruption to the UK new car market, and the consumer environment is subdued."
