TWO cousins, who broke into a series of pubs, including one in Knebworth, have been jailed.

Lee Dowsett, 30, and Jason Dowsett, 41, were sentenced to two and a half years each at Cambridge Crown Court, after pleading guilty to a string of break-ins at pubs in Knebworth, Hertford, Watford, Stevenage and Aldenham.

Lee Dowsett, of Scarborough Avenue, Stevenage, admitted to two charges of burglary and one of going equipped for burglary, and asked for eight further offences to be taken into consideration, including a break-in at The Station Pub in Station Approach, Knebworth on March 24 2010.

Jason Dowsett, 41, of Winfield Mobile Home Park, Watford, pleaded guilty to three similar charges and also asked for seven other offences to be taken into consideration.

A third man, Roy Callaghan, 35, of South Street, Bishop’s Stortford, had earlier pleaded guilty to two charges of burglary and admitted 17 offences to be taken into consideration.

He was given a probation order until May 2012, and was ordered to attend a six-month substance misuse and alcohol treatment programme.

Stevenage Local Crime Unit Detective Inspector Gary Atkinson said: “This was a highly prolific gang of burglars.

“We started linking these burglaries early on and formed a highly resourced and robust police response called Operation Abrupt. Each offence triggered an intense amount of police activity which was designed to capture all the available evidence at the earliest opportunity.”

“We liaised with licensees across the county via Pubwatch and worked together to bring these offenders to justice.”