A THREE-man gang burgled the Marks and Spencer department store at Wrexham in the middle of the night and made off with £1,000 in cash and gift tokens.

All three admitted burglary when they appeared at a weekend magistrates' court and were committed to the Crown Court for sentence.

Flintshire Magistrates at Mold heard how the manager of the store was first called out at 11pm on Thursday night because the alarm had been activated.

It was found that a roof door was damaged and an attempt had been made to enter the premises. Police were informed and the alarm re-set.

However at 3am on Friday morning the manager was again alerted to the alarm being activated and there were reports of intruders on the premises.

The town centre CCTV was checked and three men who had been seen emerging from an alleyway alongside the store were arrested a short time later.

A crowbar was found in the alley and the men were found to have cash and car keys on them.

The keys related to a blue Ford Sierra parked in Hill Street and inside were bolt croppers and a quantity of cannabis.

Police made further enquiries with the CCTV operators and it was seen that the men had been to the Wynnstay Arms Hotel.

Checks showed the men were booked into a room at the hotel and inside a pillow was found £739 in £1 coins, a number of printed cheques made out to Marks and Spencers, and a number of company vouchers worth more than £400.

All three defendants tested positive for cocaine on their arrest but they denied they had drug habits.

Christopher Michael Range, 22, a roofer/bricklayer, Dermot Joseph Hughes, 19, a leisure centre lifeguard, and unemployed Adam Benjamin Hine, 19, who all gave addresses in the Surrey and London areas, were granted bail pending crown court sentence.

Magistrates agreed with defending solicitor Mark McCluskey that they should be bailed on condition they live at their home addresses.

The court heard Hughes and Hine had no previous convictions but Range had previous convictions for 32 offences.

Mr McCluskey said it was not a professional gang who had planned the burglary. They had been up to Wrexham to meet some friends who stood them up.

They met some girls and went out drinking, and later in drink they hit on the idea of the burglary. But none of them could remember whose idea it was and they all took full responsibility for it.