Criminal who kidnapped his teenage girlfriend also helped steal 51 cars worth over £1 million from across Harborough and the East Midlands

Chay Bowskill, 20, was in a six-strong gang which broke into homes throughout Harborough district and Leicestershire to steal the keys to the sleeping owners' high-value vehicles.

The six men and teenagers, one as young as 15 at the time, targeted a total of 41 homes as they carried out their major crimewave, Leicester Crown Court heard.

Bowskill and accomplices burgled homes in Tur Langton, Tilton on the Hill, Great Bowden, Scraptoft, Fleckney and Kibworth Beauchamp as well as many others across the region.

They stole a fleet of 51 high-end vehicles worth £1,153,500 altogether.

Their huge haul included luxury SUVs, an £80,000 Audi SQ7 and a £75,000 Mercedes C63s as well as BMWs, a Range Rover and Volkswagens.

Bowskill and his accomplices admitted conspiracy to commit burglaries between June and October 2019.

Many of the cars, worth about £373,000, are still missing, the court heard.

Bowskill, of Syston, near Leicester, was back in court after he was convicted in January of kidnapping his 19-year-old girlfriend Angel Lynn.

Angel, of Loughborough, suffered terrible brain damage after tumbling out of the van Bowskill abducted her in on the A6 near Mountsorrel in September 2020.

Bowskill was also convicted of “coercive and controlling behaviour” towards Angel, who now needs 24-hour-a-day care, and perverting the course of justice.

He was jailed for seven-and-a-half years.

But that has now been increased to 12 years after being referred to London’s High Court for review.

And at Leicester Crown Court two days later Bowskill was given an extra four years for carrying out the catalogue of burglaries, it has now emerged.

The serial burglar now faces serving at least 10 years before he’ll be freed.

The rest of Bowskill’s gang were made up of Barry Kew Moss, 22, Travis Hindmarsh,19, Oliver Thomas Read, 25, Aurel Sadiki, 24, all of no fixed address, and Josh Healy, 18, of Laurel Close, Mountsorrel.

Christopher Jeyes, prosecuting, told the court: “The burglaries were of occupied homes, some with elderly residents and some with children.

“Many of the occupants woke up to find doors and windows had been entered and vehicles were missing from outside.”

He added: “Some of the stolen vehicles were used in subsequent offences, with registration plates changed.”

Recorder Michael Auty, QC, told the repeat criminals as he sentenced them: “Each of you was part of an organised cabal whose purpose was to break into the homes of 41 separate families with the sole intention of stealing keys to valuable cars.

“They were expressly targeted because of their prestige nature, high performance and intrinsic high value.

“It was a serious and determined episode of criminality in which each of you played an active part.

“Whilst I acknowledge there was never any direct confrontation with householders, there were some near misses,” said Mr Auty.

“To have a gang come to their home in the dead of night, armed with a crowbar or other items, must have resulted in very real, substantial and possibly life-lasting, distress.

“What you did affected their enjoyment of life and their homes and most important of all, their sense of security in the one place they're entitled to feel the most safe and secure.

“That says nothing in terms of monetary loss and inconvenience.”

Robin Howat, defending Bowskill, said he had had an “unguided childhood” and went “badly off the rails”.

Healy and Hindmarsh, both juveniles as they carried out the county-wide crime spree, each got four years detention.

Kew Moss was locked up for six years three months.

Read and Sadiki are due to be sentenced at a later date.

Angel Lynn was found lying seriously injured on the A6 at about 10.45am on Thursday September 17, 2020.

The teenager was rushed to hospital.

But despite round-the-clock medical treatment Angel is still in hospital 18 months later after suffering “catastrophic injuries”.

A special fundraising event is to be held in Market Harborough to support the tragic young woman.

The 80s disco will go ahead at Harborough Town Football Club on Northampton Road from 8pm - 12 midnight on Saturday June 11 to help fund Angel’s intensive treatment and medical care.

Tickets cost £10 each and are available from organiser Maxine Harris on 07437 016294 or at [email protected]

Maxine is also keen to receive donations for raffle prizes if you can help.

A campaign launched to help finance Angel’s long and painstaking recovery has generated over £142,000 of its £250,000 target.

You can donate on her gofundme page here: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-angel-lynns-recovery