This Week in Court: Stephen Hooton alleged that he was paid £50 as a youth in order to pose with firearms for the cameras
06:00, 11 Apr 2026
Stephen Hooton appeared in the BBC Panorama documentary Young Gunmen at the age of 16(Image: Merseyside Police/BBC)
A prolific car thief’s “life of crime” began as a teenager when his dad spotted him carrying a shotgun in a BBC documentary and shopped his own son to the police. Stephen Hooton added to his extensive criminal record this week when he was handed a further eight years behind bars, having formed part of a gang who burgled a series of homes and stole “powerful and high value” cars from their driveways.
His numerous brushes with the law date back nearly two decades, having been locked up for four years aged 17 in 2009 for possession of firearms and ammunition. It came after his own father watched a Panorama documentary, Young Gunmen, which was screened the previous year on BBC One in the wake of the fatal shooting of 11-year-old Rhys Jones as he walked home from football training, and recognised the youth brandishing a shotgun in the footage.
Dressed in a waterproof coat and tracksuit bottoms and using a mask to hide his features, the ECHO reported at the time that Hooton was “virtually unidentifiable as he menacingly paraded the double-barrelled weapon and a handgun and bragged about local gangs and guns”. But, within weeks of the programme airing, police raided his then home on Filton Road in Huyton while investigating other matters, at which stage his dad told officers that he believed the firearm-wielding child sounded like his son.
Evidence from voice recognition experts then backed up these suspicions, while a rip in the jacket worn by the boy in the footage matched one on Hooton’s coat. His defence team went on to claim that he had been paid £50 by a “fixer”, allegedly an older member of an OCG called the Marsh Gang, to pose for the cameras while wielding the weapon, which he maintained that he had been handed for the purposes of the TV show.
Hooton would subsequently be rapped by magistrates in 2015 after being caught feeding stolen bank notes into betting machines at William Hill and Ladbrokes before responding with fury when he was remanded into custody by the same court in 2018 while facing six charges of burglary, delivering a “foul mouthed tirade”, scaling the dock and climbing into a ceiling space above. Having dropped back down into the courtroom, he was ultimately apprehended on the landing outside.
In 2021, Hooton was subsequently handed 62 months in connection with a total of 160 burglaries and the theft of motor vehicles worth £2.5million during 2019 and 2020. Later the same year, his mum told the Sunday Times that his involvement in the documentary more than 10 years prior had “sent him off the rails” and blamed the BBC over the sum of money that was paid to her son, although the corporation denied having been responsible for the payment.
Liverpool Crown Court then heard on Friday that, following his release from prison, Hooton again formed part of a criminal syndicate which targeted a total of nine properties across Merseyside over the course of around two months between late August and mid October of 2024, resulting in the theft of “powerful or high value” cars worth in the region of £214,000. Many of these involved the same “MO”, namely snapping off the locks of doors and entering the houses at night while the occupants were asleep in bed, with the vehicles often being driven in convoy to the Blackburn area following the thefts.
David Polglase, prosecuting, described how Joseph Jones, Lewis Tankard, Mark Whitehouse and Hooton were ultimately linked to the crime spree via CCTV footage, automatic number plate recognition technology and telecommunications evidence. This included cell siting data showing the movement of their phones alongside the stolen vehicles and a Citroen Berlingo van, registered and insured to the former defendant at his home on Aldwark Road in Dovecot, which was used to transport the offenders on each occasion.
The first break-in saw a £28,000 Audi TT and a BMW 420i worth £12,000 stolen from an address on Coachman’s Drive in West Derby at around 5.30am on August 31 that year. The next occurred on Wood View Road in Woolton on September 5, leading to the theft of a £10,000 Audi A6 and a £9,000 Seat Ibiza, with bank cards which were also stolen from the home then being used to make attempted purchases at a Go Local store and Shell garage in Bootle.
The following day, a homeowner on Johnstone Avenue in Bootle woke in the early hours due to “something disturbing his dog”. He then discovered that the lock of his back door has been snapped, with a £21,000 Audi Q5 having been taken from his driveway.
A set of Apple AirPods, a wallet containing cash and a North Face bag were also stolen during this break-in. The latter item was subsequently recovered from Tankard’s family home on Kingsheath Avenue in Dovecot after police were led to the address by a tracker on the headphones.
A £17,000 Ford Puma was then stolen from a house on Essex Road in Huyton before a married couple were similarly “disturbed by unusual behaviour from their pet dog” shortly before 2am on September 24 to discover the theft of a Ford Kuga, also worth £17,000, and a £15,000 Ford Fiesta. The wife then “screamed through the window” of their home on Crosswood Crescent in Huyton towards the man who was stealing the latter car and told him that she was on the phone to the police, with Mr Polglase adding: “Her protestations were met by a raised middle finger.”
The OCG then attempted to steal a £24,000 Ford Puma from an address on Ravenna Road in Allerton in the early hours of October 1, although the thieves were seemingly disturbed by the occupant on this occasion. But the car was then stolen after being left parked and locked outside a Screwfix store which the owner had visited later the same day, having apparently been followed by members of the gang.
On September 30, a Ford Fiesta valued at £6,000 was then stolen from Windy Arbor Close in Whiston before, at around 3.30am on October 6, a homeowner “thought that his cats had knocked something over downstairs and went back to bed”, only to then hear an engine revving outside and witness his £35,000 BMW X5 being driven from his driveway on Coulport Close in Dovecot. The final theft occurred on Wimbourne Road in Huyton on October 16, when the occupant awoke to find that her £20,000 Ford Kuga had been stolen.
Hooton, formerly of Woolfall Heath Avenue in Huyton, has a total of 25 previous convictions for 48 offences, including being convicted alongside Tankard for their “very similar offending” five years ago. Jason Smith, defending the 34-year-old, said: “In his early teens, he was recruited into street gangs, and his involvement in crime started from that point.
“Since his earlier teens, his involvement has escalated and escalated. We are in the position now where we know that he is facing a further lengthy sentence of imprisonment. He appreciates that, if he continues with this lifestyle, the sentences are going to get longer and longer.
“As an adult, he now needs to take stock of the position and move away from his involvement in any form of criminality, let alone this form of offending, which has become something that he is almost living from. The temptation, upon release, is to continue with the same conduct with the same people. It has to stop, and he knows that. The only real mitigation that can be put before the court is the remorse and the guilty plea. He is sincere in his apology.”
Jones’ 21 prior convictions for 49 offences meanwhile include eight years for conspiracy to supply heroin and cocaine in 2019. The 36-year-old’s counsel Brendan Carville said: “He has three children. He did have custody of those children until he went into custody. Now his mother, who is 70 years old, is looking after the children.
“He accepts that he was the driver, but he did not enter the premises. He has driven people to the locations, then driven away from the locations. There is no suggestion that the driver of the Berlingo actually goes into the premises.
“It is unusual, in such circumstances, to find a vehicle being used time and time again, nine times, where the vehicle being used is owned, registered and insured to the driver. The point is, from the defendant’s point of view, that it is a rather crazy situation that he has used his own van. He was always, always going to be apprehended for these offences.”
Tankard’s criminal record includes a 67-month sentence for the previous plot to steal cars from houses, in which Hooton was his co-defendant, from 2021. Stuart Mills, defending, told the court that the 25-year-old, of Greenfield Walk in Huyton, was the father to a two-week-old baby and said: “It is clear that he had a difficult upbringing himself. Both parents had alcohol and violence issues. He was brought up by other family members from the age of eight.
“He got involved with the wrong crowd, which got him involved in crime. He is determined to put a stop to this and to come out of prison to a better life for his family, who he accepts he has let down very badly.
“The catalyst for change is the fact that he has a two-week-old child who he has never met. That drives his attitude to the future. He appreciates that he will now be in custody for some time to come. He will miss much of the formative development of his young baby, and also that of his four-year-old son.
“He says that he has come to the end of his tether. This has to stop, and he no longer wants to be in this cycle of ever increasing prison sentences. He wants to serve his sentence and come out to be a more responsible father to his children and a better partner.
“He tells me that he is already described as the number one wing cleaner. He is clearly highly thought of in custody. He enjoys enhanced status. That demonstrates, better than anything, his attitude towards his time in custody. He has already undertaken a number of courses.
“Frankly, he is mortified at what he has been involved in and, no doubt, inflicted on others. He would want to express his sincere apologies to all of his victims. Upon his release, he wants to come out obtain employment and lead a law abiding lifestyle.
“He has demonstrated, in my respectful submission, an attitude towards making himself offence free. He has worked to obtain his CSCS card to allow him to work in the building trade. That is what he wants to do upon release. He wants to undertake further courses in prison to allow him every opportunity to obtain employment upon release.
“He is working hard to that end. He sees a future for himself. He wants to make that future better, and he is going to come out and work towards being a responsible member of society.”
Whitehouse, of Woodstock Street in Vauxhall, has four previous convictions for 10 offences. With the 34-year-old said to have been involved only in relation to the theft of the vehicles from Crosswood Crescent and Ravenna Road, his barrister Adam Watkins said: “He is in a very different position to that of his three co-accused. He involved himself in the theft of two vehicles a week apart. He was not involved in or aware of the other thefts, the wider conspiracy.
“He is not without previous convictions, but he is the most lightly convicted of the four offenders before your honour, both in the sense of volume and gravity. The most recent of his offences before these were committed was in the first half of 2018, some eight years ago now.
“He is to be sentenced for offending in the latter part of 2024, 18 months or so ago now. The pre-sentence report emphasises the changes to his lifestyle across those 18 months. His life is now much, much more settled than it was then. He is committed to and living with his partner.
“They have been together for some 12 months. She has some four children of her own, who he has supported and grown close to. She is now pregnant with his children and due to give birth in September. He has greater reason than at any other point to stay clear of offending and support his partner and their child.
“He can properly be given the opportunity to back up that which he has said about his intention to do the right thing about his partner and family and remain offence free. He would comply with any and all requirements that the court feels are appropriate in this case. The court can stop short of imposing an immediate custodial sentence.”
Hooton, Jones and Tankard all admitted conspiracy to commit burglary and conspiracy to steal motor vehicles. Appearing via video link to HMP Hindley, a judge told Hooton that he had “lived a life of crime” as he was jailed for eight years.
Jones and Tankard, who both appeared remotely from HMP Liverpool, were meanwhile handed eight years and eight years and eight months respectively. The former also asked for a further offence of theft, relating to a Ford Fiesta which was stolen from an address on Olivia Way in Huyton in July 2025, to be taken into consideration, while the latter pleaded guilty to a bail offence after failing to attend a case management hearing before the same court in December, thereafter remaining at large for around a month before he was arrested on a warrant.
The three men were seen to give thumbs up to one another at the conclusion of the hearing. Whitehouse meanwhile admitted the charge of conspiracy to steal motor vehicles and, appearing in the dock, was handed an 18-month imprisonment suspended for two years with 150 hours of unpaid work and a rehabilitation activity requirement of up to 30 days.
Sentencing, Judge Ian Harris said: “The houses were occupied and the offences were mainly committed at night. Automatic number plate recognition and CCTV were used, together with analysis of mobile phone material, to place you at the scene of the burglaries. The police work is to be commended for piecing this material together to enable these defendants to be brought justice.
“Burglary of a dwelling house is an evil offence. People are entitled to security and peace mind. These offences were planned without regard for other people’s privacy, home life and security.
“The reason, pure and simple, was to steal hard earned and valuable vehicles. All of you have provided immoral support for each other in committing these mean and serious offences. There was significant planning and organisation.”