Two men, who stole £25,000 of jewellery from a shop they lived next to, have been jailed.

Ashley Lloyd, 21, and Jason Simpson, 19, broke into West Country Jewellers in Melksham High Street on February 22, forcing their way through a side door with a crowbar and smashing a CCTV camera.

The pair, who lived in a flat next door, started to sell their haul via pawnbrokers, for a fraction of its true value.

Last week, Judge Douglas Field at Swindon Crown Court jailed Simpson for a year and Lloyd for 14 months after they admitted burglary.

The raid, the second at the shop in two years, left owner Mary Bryant, questioning whether to close down.

She said: “At least now we’ll be getting a rest from them for, I suppose, six months. I don’t come in on my own any more; I bring my daughter with me.”

Lloyd was arrested shortly after the raid, as he had used identification to sell some of the loot at a pawn shop.

Alex Daymond, for Lloyd, said his client had committed the offence because he was £16,000 in debt. He said Lloyd had been bad at managing his money and took the easy way out with the raid.

Tim Hills, for Simpson, said his client got a £50 pay-day loan from Wonga.com which grew into a £600 debt.

“For a first offence, a jewel heist is not what one expects of a 19-year-old; but there you are, he’s done it,” he said.

Judge Field said: “This burglary clearly had considerable planning and thought attached to it.

“The premises were targeted because it clearly had valuable items of jewellery there for burglars to take.”