A GANG yesterday admitted carrying out an audacious robbery at a North-East building society.

The four men, all from Liverpool, pleaded guilty to theft when they appeared at Teesside Crown Court following the raid in Darlington on April 2.

Gerrard McGovern, 41, his brother, Stephen, 25, Brian James McNally, 45, and Derek Evans, 41, admitted stealing £32,285 from the headquarters of Darlington Building Society, in the town's Yarm Road.

During the raid, staff were evacuated after a fire alarm was set off.

When they returned to the building they noticed a cash box was missing.

Workers reported seeing a smartly-dressed man leaving the building from a side door.

The stranger had been wearing a suit and tie and was seen getting into a car before being driven away.

At the time of the theft, Darlington police said it had been a carefully planned and well executed raid.

Officers later recovered a dark car that had been seen leaving the scene, and an empty cash box, which was found at the town's railway station.

Stephen McGovern and McNally were arrested hours after the raid.

Gerrard McGovern was charged in June with the same offence when he was arrested in Liverpool after an appeal by police.

No members of staff or members of the public were hurt during the incident.

The McGovern brothers and McNally all pleaded guilty at Teesside Crown Court where the case was listed for a seven-day trial. They had all been granted conditional bail to appear at court for the trial, apart from Evans, who was already in custody. He had earlier pleaded guilty to stealing the money.

No further details of the offence were read out in court and the case was adjourned for pre-sentence reports on the defendants.

Judge John Walford said the case would be listed for sentencing some time after February 1.

Apart from the head office the building society has two branches in Darlington and others throughout the North-East and North Yorkshire.

A building society spokesman said last night: "We would like to praise the actions of the police and the workings of the judicial system for ensuring that this process has been resolved without the need for a full trial."