A GANG of men who kidnapped a lorry driver at knifepoint and stole his load have been jailed.

Marek Tuszynski, a Polish lorry driver, was punched in the face, threatened with a kitchen knife and thrown in the boot of a car before being dumped in remote countryside covered in blood and wearing nothing but his underpants.

His attackers Lenny Hodgkins, Timothy Joyce, Mark Southall, John Southall and Simon Smith were all sentenced for robbery and kidnap at Worcester Crown Court yesterday.

Joyce, aged 24, and Hodgkins, 34, known to be at the scene when the robbery was carried out and heavily involved in the plan, were sent to prison for eight years and 10 years respectively.

Mark Southall, 29, a main player but who did not use violence, was given eight years, while John Southall, 22, and Smith, 31, who played the role of drivers, were given five years each.

There were audible gasps and sobbing from a packed public gallery as the men were sentenced by judge Trevor Faber, who described their offences as a “professionally planned commercial robbery”.

The case centred on the Waterside caravan park, Warndon, where Smith and Mark Southall lived, which was near to Ebrington Drive – a place they knew lorry drivers regularly parked overnight.

On Thursday, October 9, 2008, Mr Tuszynski, a man who spoke little English, had driven his lorry with a trailer containing tinned fruit worth 23,000 euros to Wainwright Road, Worcester. He arrived at 8.30pm but could not enter the car park until his delivery time so parked in nearby Ebrington Drive.

Richard Bond, prosecuting, said: “At 12.05am the victim was woken up by a man in his cab telling him to get out. Two men who had their faces covered confronted him.

“A kitchen knife was pushed into him, he was punched hard in the face, causing him to bleed. The other man also had a knife.

“He was naked apart from his underwear.”

An emotional Mr Tuszynski had broken down as he told an earlier court he was “crying like a baby” and feared he would either be shot or the car would be set on fire with him inside.

He was released in Throckmorton and raised the alarm at about 1.45am.

In the meantime, some of the gang using a green 4x4 Isuzu Trooper returned to the lorry and took it and the trailer to Hampton Lovett trading estate in Droitwich.

There, the Polish tractor unit was exchanged for another which had been stolen from a Wychbold company and the load driven to Hanley Castle where it was left in a lay-by.

The court was told the gang were probably waiting to see if the unit had a satellite tracking system but they were caught when a police sergeant remembered seeing the green 4x4 driven by Smith near Wainwright Road at about 8.40pm.

He later saw Smith driving a white Transit van – with John and Mark Southall and Joyce inside – and followed them to the caravan park where they were arrested.

Just before 3am, police found the Isuzu Trooper and three hours later found a burnt-out green Peugeot in Taylors Lane.

In mitigation, John Southall, of Bilston Road, Tipton, the only one with no previous convictions, was said to be a hard-working man with a two-year-old son. Mark Southall was described as a thief but not a violent man with two very young children while Hodgkins, of The Glade, Malvern, was a father-of-four.

Joyce, of Ash Road, Wednesbury, and Smith admitted the offences while the other three were found guilty on February 10 at Birmingham Crown Court.