THE leader of a gang of professional shop raiders is lining up a new job - as a security consultant for the company he blighted.

Kevin Bate's travelling team was responsible for a series of burglaries and thefts across the country during a year-long crime-spree.

Since his arrest, the 43-year-old has written to bosses of one of the companies targeted by the raiders - to ask for a job.

Incredibly, bosses of the One Stop chain of shops are considering recruiting the career crook to help them improve security.

Six of the firm's convenience stores were hit by the gang as it struck more than 20 times the length and breadth of the country.

From Northumberland to Norfolk and Cumbria to Cornwall, the raiders plundered cash, cigarettes, tobacco and stamps.

Often, they either stole closed circuit television equipment and damaged it beyond repair to hinder the police investigations.

Details of the crimes - and Bate's potential career change - emerged when they were sentenced at Teesside Crown Court yesterday.

Bate's barrister, Stephen Rich, told the court that he went straight and got a job as a roofer after his last release from prison.

But when he was kicked out of his home by his partner, "he seems to have found it too easy to relax back into this existence," said Mr Rich.

"The defendant has had quite a long time to reflect on what he has been doing in the past and what he intends to do in the future.

"During his time on remand, he wrote a letter to the management of One Stop, apologising for what he had done.

"He also offered his services as someone who could tell them to better secure their premises. Astonishingly enough, he has received a reply which is positive.

"Unfortunately, he is going to be unavailable for consultation for some considerable time."

The remarkable role change would mirror the storyline of 2002 film, Catch Me If You Can starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Tom Hanks.

Di Caprio's character Frank Abagnale was a master conman whose cheque swindles cost banks millions of dollars.

After being finally caught by FBI agent Carl Hanratty, played by Hanks, he ended up being recruited to help cut bank fraud.

Mr Rich showed Judge Simon Bourne-Arton, QC, the letter from One Stop, and said: "I would invite Your Lordship to take that into account as a piece of personal mitigation of some weight."

Bate, from Sunderland, and fellow team member Andrew Pickering, 38, from Stanley, County Durham, were jailed for four years.

John Ramsay, 33, received 33 months, and John Wallis, 39, and John Carney, 42, also all from Sunderland, got five-and-a-half years.

Judge Bourne-Arton said: "If you take part in a professional conspiracy, you should expect this sort of sentence. That's part of the risk you take."

The men, who all admitted conspiracy to steal, were caught in September last year after an investigation by nine police forces.

One Stop shops, Co-ops, Spar stores and a number of small independent traders were hit during the £30,000 spree.

Prosecutor Paul Newcombe told the court that a tried-and-trusted method was used on almost every occasion.

One member of the team would cause a distraction by knocking over a display or dropping a box of eggs, while the others would disable or steal CCTV equipment and raid the store room.

Shops in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, Scarborough, and Wallsend and Whitley Bay in North Tyneside were among the targets.