A GANG who stole cars worth £30,000 have 'no assets' and will have to pay back just £1 each as a nominal fee or face a day in jail.

Car key burglars Billy Cowley, Brandon Gorman and Reece Williams-Brown raided an Evesham home while a young child slept inside and were later involved in 'extremely dangerous driving' in a stolen car during a failed getaway.

A hearing took place at Worcester Crown Court on Friday to discuss how to recover the cost of the stolen cars from the defendants, all now serving prison sentences, after some debate about their value.

The owner had valued the cars at £25,000 each.

Richard Franck, prosecuting, said all three defendants had 'no assets' so only nominal orders could be made in any case.

However, judge Nicolas Cartwright said at the hearing that there was always a chance the defendants could inherit money or come by it on other ways, arguing that the Crown Prosecution Service often did not make Proceeds Of Crime Applications (POCAs) for car key burglaries despite them involving the theft of high value cars.

"I can't think of any reason why such (POCA) timetables shouldn't be set" said the judge.

The judge set the benefit figure in the POCA at £30,000 - the combined value of the Volkswagen Golf R (£18,000) and the Mercedes Benz A class (£12,000) stolen in the car key burglary.

The judge made a nominal £1 confiscation order for each of the defendants which must be paid within the next three months with a day in prison in default of payment. The order is expected to be confirmed by the judge on February 10.

Because the defendants were not present at the hearing the judge said the order would stand unless correspondence was received from them taking issue with it in which case another hearing could take place.

The trio of burglars broke into the home in Cartwright Way, Evesham, on June 17 last year, stole car keys and made off in the two high value cars (the Golf and Mercedes) while the homeowners and their son were asleep inside.

The following day all three men were involved in a police chase on the M42 in a different stolen car (a Seat Leon), attempting a getaway even though the car's tyres had been shredded by a police stinger.

The three all received jail sentences when they appeared together at Worcester Crown Court last July and two of the men missed the birth of their children as a result.

Billy Cowley, aged 22, of Little Hill Way, Birmingham; Brandon Gorman, aged 22, of Runcorn Road, Birmingham and 20-year-old Reece Williams-Brown of Oddingley Road, Birmingham admitted the Evesham burglary and theft of a Volkswagen Golf and Mercedes A200.

Gorman admitted aggravated vehicle taking after driving a stolen Seat Leon dangerously on the M42 the following day (June 18).

Cowley and Williams-Brown also admitted aggravated vehicle taking after allowing themselves to be carried in the stolen Leon.

Gorman alone admitted driving while disqualified on June 17 and again on June 18. Gorman admitted two offences of using a car without third party insurance and one of failing to provide a specimen for analysis, claiming to be scared of needles.

The Mercedes was fitted with a tracker which allowed the owner to trace the vehicle to Gorman's address. By the time police arrived the car had already been fitted with false plates.

The judge jailed Gorman for four years and three months and banned him from driving for 12 months.

Williams-Brown was sentenced to four years detention in a Young Offender Institution and banned from driving for 12 months.

Cowley was jailed for three and a half years and banned from driving for 12 months.