THE York driver of a KitKat lorry was hijacked by three men wearing balaclavas and brandishing a hammer after he was flagged down on a road near Selby, a court heard.

Derby Crown Court was told that hijacker James Gibney faked a car breakdown, then he and two accomplices climbed into the lorry. One of the three ordered the terrified driver into the trailer, forced his hands on his head, and then sat on him as the other two drove the lorry away.

But they drove so erratically that the gearbox failed and Gibney called a friend, Tony Bradley, who arranged for a replacement tractor unit to be sent to them. Gibney was arrested soon afterwards.

Gibney, 21, who is already serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence, was jailed for five years after admitting robbery.

Bradley, 27, was jailed for six years after admitting handling stolen goods and robbery.

Another man, Tony Keeley, 24, was jailed for four years after admitting robbery.

All three men are from the Liverpool area.

The court heard they had been involved in "well-organised scams" in which they were prepared to use violence.

Bradley and Keeley threatened to kill a security guard who saw them trying to steal a lorry at TDG Logistics, West Hallam, Derbyshire, on April 27 last year.

They heard how the pair, who were wearing balaclavas, then knocked his radio out of his hand and forced him inside the cab of another lorry.

The men then drove off in a lorry containing £20,000 of pharmaceutical goods destined for Boots the Chemists, said Andrew Peet, prosecuting.

Police later saw the vehicle being driven along the M1 - but when the men realised they had been spotted they pulled the lorry over and fled.

The pair were arrested a few months later after Bradley's DNA was found on a cigarette butt in the lorry and Keeley's fingerprints were found at the depot.

But Bradley became involved in the theft of the KitKat lorry on June 18 last year, when he helped Gibney steal the trailer laden with chocolate.

The first tractor unit broke down in Halifax, and the second tractor used in the hijacking was found in Merseyside.

Detectives from Selby CID, led by Detective Sergeant Dave Pegg, worked with colleagues in Humberside, Derbyshire, Cheshire and Merseyside as part of the investigation.

Det Con Pete Masterman, of Selby, said today it had been a major inquiry, involving diligent detective work.

"The Selby CID team, helped by officers from York, travelled across to Liverpool to carry out extensive inquiries.

"This enabled us to gather sufficient evidence to charge these men and bring them to book."

Updated: 10:36 Friday, June 18, 2004