A family of jewellers will spend a total of 20 years behind bars for their part in “an organised gold scam” involving stolen jewellery worth £1.4m.

Brian Maltman, 55, his wife Kim, 56, and their 23-year-old son Daniel, all of Havering Road, Collier Row, were found guilty by a jury at Maidstone Crown Court on Thursday.

The trio each faced charges of money laundering and conspiracy to handle stolen goods and had been accused of melting down stolen gold.

On Friday, at the same court, Brian was sentenced to 10 years in prison and Daniel to six after being found guilty of both charges.

Mrs Maltman was found guilty of money laundering and was handed a four-year jail term.

Passing sentence, the judge described their crimes as professional and that the family had been a magnet for criminality.

The trio were caught after two burglaries in Kent in May last year where jewellery was stolen.

Following an investigation by Kent Police the vehicle used by the burglars was identified as a Mini Cooper being used on a false registration plate.

At 5pm on the same day the car was involved in an accident in Havering Road, Collier Row.

The Mini left the scene of the collision and was abandoned on a nearby estate.

A witness saw the suspects cleaning down the car and then being picked up by a second vehicle, which was registered to the Maltman family.

When it was recovered the true identity of the Mini showed that it had been stolen during a burglary in Brentwood in April 2016.

Officers then obtained a search warrant for the Maltmans Collier Row home.

There, they discovered jewellery stolen from numerous burglaries in Kent and a number of other counties, and also found paperwork suggesting the family had been paid large sums of money, the majority of which was in cash, by a smelting company on a regular basis.

The Maltmans were subsequently arrested and bailed on suspicion of handling stolen goods and money laundering offences.

Brian was arrested again in January this year after police found him in possession of £60,000 worth of gold, some of which had been reported stolen from Essex and London.

Investigating officer, PC Dameon Shaw of Kent Police said: “This was a complex investigation which unravelled after the Mini Cooper was involved in a collision in Essex and spiralled into one of the most organised gold scams to date.

“The Maltman’s used their family business to disguise their criminality and formed relationships with criminals who carried out offences across Kent and Essex in order to make significant amounts of money, causing fear among many families after their homes were broken into.

“We worked closely with Essex Police and carried out a thorough investigation which revealed the true extent of this network indicating that the Maltman’s had illegally handled stolen jewellery worth £1.4m which was smelted down in order to fund their lifestyle.

“Their sentences reflect the organised and serious criminality carried out by this family and I’m pleased that they have been brought to justice for these crimes.”

Further investigation linked the Maltman family to three prolific burglars that it appeared they were in regular contact with.

All three men have now been charged with various offences which saw jewellery stolen from homes before being passed to the Maltmans to be melted down.

Albie Kelly, 23, of New Road, Rainham, pleaded guilty to three counts of burglary and theft relating to offences carried out in Longfield and Dartford, as well as the burglary in Cameron Close, Brentwood, where the Mini Cooper was stolen.

Nick Guidotti, 24 of Thorney Bay Road, Canvey Island, Essex, pleaded guilty to 16 counts of burglary in April and May 2016

Peter Lord, 24, of Wigton Road, Romford, Essex, pleaded guilty to two burglaries in May 2016.

All three men are due to be sentenced on Thursday 10 August 2017.