THREE men who were jailed for their parts in an international industrial machinery swindling case have been freed after having their convictions quashed.

Appeal Court judges allowed Mark Thompson, Jason Ralph and Philip Harvey to walk free after ruling their convictions were unsafe during a hearing in London.

The trio had all been convicted of conspiring to handle stolen goods, namely industrial machinery, in an enterprise that netted hundreds of thousands of pounds.

During their trial in Bournemouth Crown Court last summer, the court head how the stolen vehicles, “telescopic handlers” each worth around £25,000, were initially being picked up by Ralph in London, who then sold on to Thompson’s vehicle sales firm in Romsey.

In turn Thompson sold them on for a profit, to customers all over the world, making up to £2,000 on each machine.

Harvey’s role was acting as a facilitator for Ralph – who is also his nephew – cashing cheques for him because he didn’t have a bank account.

Detectives in Hampshire began investigating business dealings between the three in August 2004 when they carried out a routine check on a vehicle carrying what turned out to be a stolen JCB telescopic handler.

Mr Thompson, 54, of The Frenches, East Wellow, was jailed for 27 months, Mr Ralph, 34, of Queens Terrace, Southampton, received 30 months and Mr Harvey, 57, of Clifton Road, Southampton, was sentenced to 12 months’ imprisonment. But Lord Justice Dyson, sitting at London’s Criminal Appeal Court, said there was insufficient evidence in all the cases and quashed the jury’s verdicts.