THREE members of a gang responsible for more than 100 burglaries across several counties have been ordered to pay back £1 each.

The five person gang stole almost £1million in cars and property during raids including in Colchester, Tiptree and Layer de la Haye.

A decision on how much the remaining two have to pay has been postponed.

Specialist financial investigators failed to identify any assets or cash belonging to three men who had previously admitted their parts in 102 burglaries.

Ipswich Crown Court heard, on Thursday, how much they had stolen during a proceeds of crime hearing.

Robert Butler, 31, of Lilliput Road, Romford had gained £201,000; Kyle Shillingford, 27, of no fixed address £115,527 and Joseph Mahon, 20, of Fanshawe Road, Cambridge £30,669.

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Judge John Devaux ordered each should pay a nominal £1.

Hearings for Luke Wall, 24, and his partner Teresa Connors, 21, both of Leicester Road, Tilbury, Essex were adjourned to obtain further information.

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During the burglaries the gang, not content with stealing goods, also set out to wreck properties deliberately blocking sinks and leaving taps turned on.

The gang were convicted in June for raids in Essex, Kent, Cambridgeshire, Suffolk, Hertfordshire, Norfolk, Enfield and Buckinghamshire between March 18 and September 29, 2014.

The property stolen amounted to £970,000 of which about £159,000 worth was recovered.

Items stolen included cars, money, computer equipment, electrical goods and jewellery.

During one burglary jewellery worth more than £10,000 was stolen from a home in Axial Drive, Colchester.

Wall, Connors, Shillingford and Mahon all admitted conspiracy to burgle and Butler was found guilty Wall was jailed for eight years, Butler for seven, Mahon for three years and four months, Shillingford for two years and four months and Connors for eight months.

In Essex, offences were also committed in Great Wigborough, Heybridge, South Ockendon, Pilgrims Hatch, Rayleigh, Basildon, Shenfield, Harlow, Buckhurst Hill, Epping, Orsett, Laindon, Billericay, Wickford and Grays.