A MIDDLEWICH man has avoided jail after pleading guilty to his part in a conspiracy to steal vehicles in an 'ongoing feud' between travellers.

This comes after the Guardian reported on his guilty plea last week.

Nathan Ward, 28, of Cledford Lane, was given a 12-month community order on Friday after his actions in a gang dispute that ended with a 32-tonne HGV being crashed into a family home.

Ward was the last of six to be sentenced in connection with a lorry being stolen and deliberately driven into the home in Goldenhill, Stoke-On-Trent.

DS Adrian Webb, who led the investigation, said: "This attack was extensively and carefully planned to intimidate a local family."

The incident occurred in November 2015 when a stolen skip loader was repeatedly rammed into the house in Broadfield Road.

The lorry was in convoy with at least two other vehicles which contained several other suspects.

None of the house occupants were injured, but thousands of pounds worth of damage was caused.

A spokesperson from Staffordshire Police detailed that the occupants were specifically targeted as part of an ongoing feud between travelling community families.

Another Middlewich resident, Ian Lloyd, 31, of Long Lane, was also sentenced to 16 months in prison, suspended for two years.