A GANG of drug-addicted robbers who stole from 85 betting shops around the country were jailed last week.

Denzil Rochester, 19, of Chaplin Road, Wembley, was one of 16 men who went on a four-month crime spree targeting gaming machines used in Ladbroke stores.

The robbers, who were often high on cocaine, worked in groups of three to six and would surround the Cash Quest machine, splitting the plastic cover on the front of the terminal and gain access to the internal workings, Southwark Crown heard on Friday.

Prosecutor David Hewitt said: "This would in effect fool it into producing vouchers which could be exchanged for cash."

The gang made more than £55,000 in the scam which took them to Ladbrokes shops from Yorkshire to Devon, and would sometimes hit up to five shops a day.

The court heard it was almost three months before they raised an eyebrow.

Eventually a Ladbrokes in Derby became suspicious and notified the local police who established the gang was from London.

An investigation was then launched by the Met who carried out synchronised swoops on 13 addresses in Paddington in November last year.

All of the men pleaded guilty to a charge of conspiracy to steal.

Judge Paul Dodgson described the crime spree as a "sustained period of offending".

He said: "I do take into account however that no violence and no threat of violence was used in the offences.

"Nevertheless this was a prolonged spate of dishonesty and a thorough nuisance which resulted in substantial loss to betting shops.

"Had those at the top of this conspiracy not pleaded guilty they would have been sentenced to something in the region of two years in prison."

Because of the gang, Ladbrokes has removed every terminal in the country and replaced them with more secure versions.

Rochester, Mark Riley, 24, of Park Royal, and Stephen Koya, 29, of Bayswater, were jailed for 12 months. Koya was also sentenced to eight years, to run concurrently, for his part in an unconnected armed robbery.

Their accomplices Christopher Melim, 19, Ashley Hutchinson, 19, both of Paddington, and Shane McCleod, 22, of Maida Vale, were given 150 hours community service.

Lee Johnston, 33, of Perivale was given an 18 month community supervision order.

David Carey, 22, of no fixed address, was given an eight month sentence and Sean Murphy, 26, of Ilbert Street, Paddington, is being assessed for suitability for a possible drug treatment order.

The remaining gang members will be sentenced at a later date.