A bank robber who thought he'd planned the perfect crime was caught because he forgot one tiny detail - the personalised number plate on his car.
James Snell used his BMW, bearing the distinctive "J4MES" registration, to stake out the Halifax branch in Roath, Cardiff, before pulling off the £100,000 heist along with three accomplices.
However, the 26-year-old's penchant for an ostentatious number plate was his undoing.
A witness remembered clocking the unusual moniker and reported it to the police.
Officers later caught up with Snell and his brother Wayne, 34, who were hiding out at a flat in the city with £30,000 in cash.
Seventy thousand pounds remain unaccounted for.
Judge Gareth Jones at Cardiff Crown Court described the hit on the bank as a "professional, sophisticated, planned robbery", but the gang were spotted removing a heavy drain cover from the road, before returning later in another car.
The metal cover was used by the robbers to smash their way in as the cash machine was being refilled at night.
Tim Evans, prosecuting, said: "It is clear their arrogance contributed to their undoing."
Wayne Snell, who admitted robbery, was jailed for eight years, while Carl Campion, 44, another member of the gang, was jailed for 12 years after denying robbery.
James Snell, 26, and final gang member Adam Abbott, 38, both admitted robbery, and will be sentenced at a later date.
