A gang of 12 men carrying weapons including knives, axes and baseball bats were seen raiding a house in Skegness after smashing down the front door with a motorbike
Terrifying footage shows a gang of 12 men storming a property armed with a variety of weapons after smashing down the front door – with a motorbike.
The group were captured on shocking CCTV at the house in Skegness, Lincolnshire, while armed with baseball bats and axes on February, 27 2023. Motorbike rider Paul Johns, 35, can be seen using his vehicle to smash in the front door before he even drives it inside the property.
Fellow gang members then flood in behind him armed with a variety of weapons as the three occupants of the house fled for their lives. Police said knives, metal poles, an axe, screwdrivers, a golf club and baseball bats were all used in the attack.
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Police arrived and found the inside of the property badly damaged and the trio who were believed to be the targets had made their escape out of the backdoor unharmed. Detectives were able to trace Johns after seizing a motorbike helmet which had been dumped in the front garden alongside a baseball bat and other weapons.
Two other men, Shane Tune, 40, and Tommy Gaskin Snr, 53, were tracked down and arrested following CCTV, witness statements and DNA forensic evidence. The three defendants were all charged with affray and pleaded guilty.
Johns, of Skegness, was jailed for 14 months at Lincoln Crown Court on Thursday, while Tune, also of Skegness, was given a 10 month sentence for affray. Gaskin, of Gainsborough, will be sentenced at a later date.
The court heard police were called at around 9.30pm to reports 12 to 13 men were trying to force entry to a house on Grosvenor Road. The caller described how they had weapons and were using a motorbike to try to enter the property. CCTV showed a motorbike, ridden by Johns, pulling up outside the house at 9.33pm where he gestured to other men who were outside another property along the road.
Just before 9.34pm armed figures emerged from that adjacent property before heading toward the target location. The motorbike then pulls up through the gate and drives straight at the front door while other suspects swarm the front garden brandishing weapons.
Gaskin Snr can be seen wielding an axe which he uses to smash the windows of the property. Johns left the property on the motorbike, carrying a black motorcycle helmet he had been wearing.
Lincolnshire Police said the group are believed to have targeted the property over a drugs debt. Detective Constable David Bettison, of Skegness CID, said afterwards: “Drug-related crime casts a sombre shadow over our communities, fuelling anti-social behaviour, violence, and fear on our streets.
“Criminal gangs seek to disrupt the peace we work hard to protect, threatening the safety of our neighbourhoods. Our teams are relentless in their pursuit of those who bring harm and fear to our communities. We remain steadfast in our mission to build safer, stronger communities – where people can live without fear and take pride in the place they call home.
“Lincolnshire Police are not responsible for sentencing. Policing is part of a broader criminal justice system, and its role is to protect the public, enforce the law, investigate crimes, gather evidence, arrest and detain suspected offenders. Police forces help build case files for court and may be involved in the court process, but do not lead on the sentences convicted offenders receive, where they go to prison, or when they are released.”