FOUR men have charged following dozens of robberies and burglaries across the South including raids in Hedge End and Otterbourne.

Detectives from Hampshire’s Major Investigation Team have charged the quartet with conspiracy to commit robbery and conspiracy to commit burglary following some 40 offences across Hampshire, Thames Valley, Wiltshire and Surrey.

The four are due to appear at Portsmouth Crown Court on Monday March 25.

They are: Andrew Smith, 27, from Staines, Surrey; Stewart Last, 28, and Lee Fitzgerald, 37, both from Windsor, Berkshire; and Richard Loveridge, 27, from Datchet, Berkshire. The offences are alleged between August 2011 and February 2012.

They include an attempted burglary at Carphone Warehouse in Hedge End, a robbery at Nationwide Building Society in West Street, Fareham when a large amount of cash was stolen and a burglary at Budgens in Otterbourne. Cigarettes were taken.