Ram-raider smashed into Leeds vape shop leaving company with £10,000 bill

Andrew Nicholson is the second criminal to be jailed for the smash and grab at Station Vape in Horsforth in December.

The pair used a stolen car to reverse at speed into the shop’s front, before taking armfuls of stock.

Nicholson was given three-and-a-half years’ jail at Leeds Crown Court this week after he admitted a raft of offences.

The court heard that the Nicholson and the Lewis Mayne had used a stolen vehicle to reverse through the shop frontage shortly before 7am on December 29 last year.

The car had been stolen from a man whom Mayne knew.

They tried to smash down one camera in the shop with a hammer, but others picked up their movements. They grabbed stock, including coils and vape liquid, and filled up the car before fleeing.

The police were called to the shop on Station Road after the alarm had been triggered.

Reviewing the CCTV, they recognised Mayne and quickly arrested him. Nicholson was not charged until last month.

Nicholson, who is 39 and of no fixed address, admitted burglary, aggravated vehicle taking, driving without a licence and without insurance.

He also admitted theft of £100 worth of goods from Co-op in Alwoodley from two days before the ram-raid.

He has 19 previous convictions for 39 offences. He was jailed for 32 months in 2020 for dealing in Class A drugs.

Mitigating, Shannon Woodley told the court: “Clearly it was a joint effort to commit these offences.”

She said he got involved to feed his drug habit, was homeless and had little money.

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She said he was “very sorry” for the damage he caused, that he was now working with the drug-counselling service Forward Leeds while on remand and is on a methadone prescription.

Ms Woodley added: “He wants to be completely clear of substances.”

Judge Mushtaq Khokhar told Nicholson: “You were only too willing to commit these offences. The time has come for you to pay for it.”

On top of his jail sentence, Nicholson was also handed a 51-month driving ban.