FOUR men who admitted their parts an attempted theft at a Harlow phone shop have each been jailed for four weeks.

The four men appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Saturday July 22nd where they each were sentenced to four weeks imprisonment for attempted theft from a shop and criminal damage to property.

A police spokesperson said: “Eighteen year-olds Loris Dumitru and Ionut Dumitru, Iolinan Zlate, 20, and Nicolae Dumitru, 19, all pleaded guilty to all offences at their first court appearance.

“We were called to reports of a robbery in progress in Broad Walk, Harlow, at about 2.55pm on Thursday July 20th, where a number of men were attempting to steal devices from an O2 mobile phone shop.

The men ran in the direction of the police station: two were arrested in a nearby garden and the other two caught quickly in the town centre.

Chief Insp Paul Austin said: “These men were caught thanks to the quick work of our local officers, who were on the scene within two minutes of being called. And it was that joint effort between our policing teams that secured their arrests.

“They entered the store and pulled, kicked and punched the display cabinets inside attempting to steal mobile phones and iPads, but left empty-handed.

“We understand the impact that this type of crime has on our business community and their livelihoods, and we will continue to support our business owners, making arrests and bringing perpetrators before the courts.”