A SMARTLY-DRESSED gang of thieves who stole thousands of pounds in an audacious robbery at a North-East building society have been jailed.

The four men, all from Liverpool, wore suits and carried briefcases to avoid suspicion when they carried out the theft at the regional office of Darlington Building Society.

Teesside Crown Court heard that two members of the gang, Derek Evans and Gerrard McGovern, had convictions for carrying out similar robberies in other parts of the UK.

On April 2 last year, the pair entered the building society premises on the Lingfield estate, Darlington, while two men, Stephen McGovern, 25, and Brian McNally, 46, waited in a car outside.

Evans, 41, and McGovern, 42, mingled with customers in the reception area before they seized an opportunity to get into a secure area of the building through a staff door.

Peter Sabiston, prosecuting, said that once inside, the two men set off a fire alarm knowing staff would have to leave the building.

The thieves then broke through another door and stole a box containing £32,285.

Mr Sabiston said: "They carried that out of the building with little or no challenge."

Branch manager David Blair became suspicious after seeing the men flee the building and get into a Ford Focus car, so he gave chase and saw the vehicle heading towards the town centre along Yarm Road.

The police were called, and thanks to the quick-thinking actions of a police constable, who concluded that the gang would have to travel past Darlington police station, in St Cuthbert's Way, to make their getaway, he stood outside and noted the registration.

A national computer check revealed the car belonged to Brian McNally, who was arrested with Stephen McGovern after the vehicle was stopped in Grange Road minutes later.

Evans and Gerrard McGovern dumped the empty box at Darlington railway station before they made their way back to Merseyside by train, and were eventually caught by security footage.

Detectives had originally thought the robbery was an inside job, the court was told.

Barristers acting for the four men said they had come to the North-East to go to the England football match at Sunderland but got lost and ended up in Darlington.

Judge Peter Bowers said: "This was an audacious theft. It netted you more than £32,000."

Evans was jailed for five and a half years, McNally received three and a half years, and McGovern was sentenced to two and a half years.

They all pleaded guilty to a charge of theft.

A warrant was issued for the arrest of Gerrard McGovern, who failed to appear.