A gang of thieves who stole four new Mercedes-Benz cars in a single raid have been sentenced.

Teenager Mark Packham, of Ringmer Drive, Brighton, was convicted for his part in the elaborate heist reminiscent of the car theft film Gone In Sixty Seconds.

He was just 16 when the gang - which also included another Brighton man, Anthony Ballinger, 23, - broke into a garage under the noses of night staff .

Using stolen keys, the gang revved up the executive-model cars, smashed through the forecourt gates and sped off.

They used false number plates to disguise the cars. But the plan was foiled when an alert off-duty policeman saw them driving in convoy a few hours later.

The cars were stolen in March 2002 from a Mercedes-Benz dealership in Bracknell, Berkshire.

Gareth Branston, prosecuting, told the court: "Staff working through the night at the car showroom did not see the thefts happening.

"The next morning people arriving back at work found the gates had been smashed open and four cars were gone."

Packham was sentenced to two years in a young offenders' institute.

Ballinger, who is in prison for another offence, pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal and was jailed for 21 months.

Darren Nugent, 25, from Bracknell, was convicted of conspiracy to steal and jailed for 30 months.

Sentencing the trio at Oxford Crown Court yesterday, Judge Anthony King said he had no alternative but to send them down.

He said: "I am satisfied that this was a carefully-planned and sophisticated crime.

"You stole cars worth £127,000.

"You had already made arrangements for what you were going to do with the vehicles but something went wrong, which is why you were seen driving them a short while later."

He told Packham, 19: "You were extremely young at the time but you fully participated in the operation and you did not admit to your involvement."

Michael Jones, defending Packham, said he had been led astray.

He said: "He was aged 16 at the time of the offences and he had problems with drug abuse.

"He has personally shown remorse and is contrite. He now takes full responsibility for his part.

"He was less into it but went through with taking the motor cars."

Laura McQuitty, defending Ballinger, told the court he had led an unsettled life, left home at 17 but on his eventual release planned to move back with his parents.

He was upset at the impact his imprisonment was having on his two young sons.

The film Gone in Sixty Seconds features Nicholas Cage as a retired con blackmailed into stealing 50 cars in record time to stop his brother being murdered.