'Vinnie lookalike' planned Dome raid

The key figure in the Dome Raiders gang that tried to snatch £200 million of Millennium diamonds was a Vinnie Jones lookalike who has now disappeared, the Old Bailey heard today.

William Cockran, one of four defendants who admit conspiracy to steal the diamonds, but deny conspiracy to rob, said a man called "Tony" was "doing all the planning".

He said Tony was built like the former Wimbledon and Wales footballer, now turned hardman actor.

"Tony was about 6ft, maybe 6ft 1in tall with black hair short at the sides like a modern haircut with gel, aged 35 to 40 with a tan and a Vinnie Jones-type build," said Cockran. He said Tony was involved with security at the Dome and together with serving police officer Pc Michael Wearing, was offering the gang "inside help".

On the day of the raid in November 2000, Tony had been driving a van in a convoy behind the JCB the gang had planned to use to smash their way into the Dome, but had suddenly " disappeared", driving off towards Greenwich.

Cockran and other gang members had planned to rendezvous with Tony and his associates after the raid to exchange the diamonds for cash behind the Mayflower pub in Rotherhithe.

They had planned to wear body armour for the meeting because, Cockran said: "Criminals shoot - somebody was shot for a mobile phone the other day - you cannot trust people. We were double-crossed but in a different way."

Cockran said he was due to be paid £100,000 for his part in the raid, specifically firing the nail gun to break into the cabinets in the De Beers Diamond Millennium Exhibition, which included the Millennium Star and 11 other jewels . "From hitting the gates of the Dome in the JCB to getting to the other side of the Thames in the boat would have been five minutes maximum. The police would not have got there in time," he said.

However, the gang had been under a meticulously-planned police surveillance operation and were caught in the vault attempting to get their hands on the diamonds in "what would have been the robbery of the millennium," the court has heard.

Earlier Cockran told the court he at first thought the plan for the robbery was a joke, until he heard there was "inside help" from a police officer. The court has heard Pc Wearing, brother-inlaw of co-defendant Raymond Betson and godfather to his son, denied any involvement in the robbery and denied being friends with Tony.

Opening the defence case today Cockran, who has a prison record for burglary, violence and theft, described how he was approached 18 months ago to join the gang, meeting Betson in a cafe. "I thought it was a laugh, I thought he was joking," he said.

Cockran took his daughter and grandson to the Dome in September, 2000 to assess layout and security. He said he was stunned by the lack of security inside and outside. "Of course I thought it was pie in the sky, but after being down there I could not believe that security was so bad," he added.

The attraction was also devoid of tourists every morning so the gang deliberately timed their raid for the early morning, said Cockran.

Cockran, 49 of Catford, Aldo Ciarrocchi, 31 of Bermondsey, Raymond Betson, 39 and Robert Adams, 57, both of no fixed address, have admitted conspiracy to steal but deny conspiracy to rob. Kevin Meredith, 35 of Brighton has pleaded not guilty to both charges. The trial continues.