A man linked to a conspiracy to steal a lorryload of chocolate has been ordered to repay more than £90,000.

Graham Ascroft and five other men were linked to a series of thefts from trucks in the Dover area in April 2013.

Items taken included a refrigerated trailer worth £12,000 carrying £79,264 worth of Toblerone chocolate.

Also stolen were a pallet of whisky worth more than £8,000 and an HGV tractor unit worth £14,000.

He was last Friday ordered to repay £90,665 under the Proceeds of Crime Act at Maidstone Crown Court.

Ashcroft, 60, from Preston in Lancashire, had been sentenced to four years and eight months in prison after being found guilty for his role in the operation.

This followed a trial at Maidstone Crown Court in May 2015.

Following the thefts, detectives had found evidence that the group had been travelling between Merseyside and Kent shortly before and after the offences had taken place, often in convoy.

"Graham Ascroft and his associates were organised, professional thieves who stole lorries and their loads in order to sell them on..." - Det Ch Insp Patrick Milford

Further evidence was uncovered on a mobile phone belonging to one of the offenders, where he had stored pictures of the stolen whisky.

A review of Ascroft's assets was carried out by financial investigators from the Kent and Essex Serious Crime Directorate.

Det Ch Insp Patrick Milford said after Friday's hearing: "Graham Ascroft and his associates were organised, professional thieves who stole lorries and their loads in order to sell them on.

"Our financial investigators work hard to ensure offenders like him are not allowed to live off money that has not been earned via legitimate means.

"'This is another fantastic result for the team and further evidence that we simply will not allow offenders to reap the financial rewards of their crimes."

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