.Suspected burglars swept through London with armed guard this morning
- .The group of eight dubbed 'Dad's Army' are all aged between 48 and 76
- .Eight men have appeared before Westminster Magistrates' Court today
- .Some of group, from London and Kent, are grey-haired and hard of hearing
- .Jewels worth £60million were stolen over three days at Easter weekend
- .Tenth man, 43, arrested this morning on suspicion of conspiracy to burgle
Members of the 'Dad's Army' accused of carrying out the £60million Hatton Garden gem heist can be pictured for the first time today as they appeared in court.
The eight men were swept into court in a convoy of armoured vans surrounded by armed police with a Scotland Yard helicopter following above.
Roads in central London were closed as the Britons - aged between 48 and 76, including three pensioners - appeared at Westminster Magistrates' Court this morning.
They are all charged with conspiracy to burgle in connection with the £60million Hatton Garden jewellery raid.
All eight men, many of whom are grey-haired or bald, and some of whom had struggled to hear the judge, were remanded in custody and will appear again at Southwark Crown Court on June 4.
In the dock: The 'Dad's Army' of Britons, Daniel Jones, 58, Terry Perkins, 67, Carl Wood, 58, Paul Reader, 50, William Lincoln, 59, John Collins, 74, Brian Reader, 76, and Hugh Doyle, 48, sketched in the dock (top left to bottom right) at their first court appearance linked to the £60million Hatton Garden heist
Suspects: Members of the alleged 'Dad's Army' including plumber Hugh Doyle, left, and Daniel Jones, 58, were brought to court charged with planning the Hatton Garden heist
Caught on Camera: Carl Wood, 58, puts his head in his hands in a police van while Daniel Jones closes his eyes in frustration
First pictures: John Collins sat with his arms crossed while Brian Reader covered his face
Guard: An armed police officer blocks the street outside Westminster Magistrates' Court as a van containing some of the Hatton Garden heist suspects arrives at court
Detectives from the Metropolitan Police's Flying Squad have charged Terry Perkins, 67, Daniel Jones, 58, and Hugh Doyle, 48, all of Enfield, and William Lincoln, 59, of Bethnal Green, east London, and John Collins, 74, of Islington, north London.
Father and son Brian Reader, 76, and Paul Reader, 50, both of Dartford, and Carl Wood, 58, of Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, also face the same charge.
The charge states that together, between April 1 and May 19 this year, they conspired to enter as a trespasser a building, namely The Hatton Garden Safety Deposit at 88-90 Hatton Gardens EC1, with intent to steal.
A ninth man has been bailed pending further inquiries but this morning a tenth suspect, a 42-year-old Briton from Essex, was arrested and has been taken to a London police station, Scotland Yard said.
The raid over the Easter weekend saw thieves break into the vault at Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company in London's jewellery quarter.
Officers believe they entered the building, which houses a number of businesses, through a communal entrance before disabling the lift so they could climb down the lift shaft to the basement.
It is thought that they then forced open shutter doors and used a drill to bore a hole 20in deep, 10in high and 18in into the vault wall.
Hearing: The men, some of whom had struggled to hear proceedings, were all remanded in custody and will appear in court again on June 4. None entered a plea
Convoy: The 'Dad's Army' accused of carrying out the Hatton Garden gem heist were swept into court in a long line of vans today by a convoy of armed police
Locked down: Roads surrounding Westminster Magistrates Court were closed and guarded by armed officers as the eight men were taken to face a court for the first time
High security: Some of the suspects were carried in their own van as they were taken from custody to court
During the Easter weekend raid, thieves used a heavy-duty drill to bore through reinforced concrete into the underground safety vault in Hatton Garden, London
Once inside, the thieves ransacked 73 safety deposit boxes, taking millions of pounds worth of goods.
After facing criticism for the way the incident was handled, the Met Police apologised for deeming that a call from a security firm about an intruder alert shortly after midnight on Good Friday did not require a response.
Detectives from the Flying Squad issued the apology after confirming that alarm response procedures had not been followed, but rejected the suggestion that they were bungling 'Keystone Cops'.
Commander Peter Spindler said: 'On this occasion, the systems and processes that we have in place with the alarm companies weren't followed and, as a result of that, officers did not attend the premises when, in fact, they probably should have done and for that I want to apologise.'
A more detailed investigation into the defeat of the alarm system is continuing and Scotland Yard says it will share any lessons learnt.
Eight people have been charged with conspiracy to burgle after a raid at the Hatton Garden Safe Deposit company in London (pictured)
Plumber, second-hand car dealers, a property developer and a mechanic among 'Dad's Army' accused of planning heist
By Martin Robinson, Gemma Mullin, Steph Cockcroft for MailOnline and Chris Greenwood, Christian Gysin, Neil Sears and Inderdeep Bains for the Daily Mail
A plumber, a second-hand car dealer, a mechanic and a property developer are among defendants with a combined age of 490 who have been charged in connection with the £60million Hatton Garden gem heist.
The eight men were arrested in a string of dramatic simultaneous raids by 200 officers - some of them armed - at 12 addresses across London and Kent on Tuesday morning.
The eldest suspect is pensioner Brian Reader, 76, who was arrested after police stormed his £850,000 home in Dartford, Kent, where they also detained his son, Paul, 50.
Suspects: Daniel Jones, 58, Terry Perkins, 67, Carl Wood, 58, Paul Reader, 50, William Lincoln, 59, John Collins, 74, Brian Reader, 76, and Hugh Doyle, 48, sketched in the dock (top left to bottom right)
Suspect: Brian Reader, 76, and his 50-year-old son, Paul, right in a 1985 picture with his mother Lynne, have both been charged in connection with the Hatton Garden jewellery heist
Held: Boiler engineer Hugh Doyle, described by neighbours as 'always willing to lend a hand', was arrested in Enfield and appeared in court today
Boiler engineer and plane enthusiast Hugh Doyle, 48, property developer Terry Perkins, 67, and Daniel Jones, 58, all from Enfield, north London, are among those charged.
Police have also arrested 74-year-old John Collins, from Islington, north London and former mechanic William Lincoln, 59, from Bethnal Green, east London.
Carl Wood, 58, from Cheshunt, Hertfordshire, has been charged with the same offence.
A ninth man who was arrested following the raids has been released on bail pending further inquiries.
Detectives were faced with chaos when they entered the basement in London's diamond district
Held: 48-year-old plumber Hugh Doyle, pictured, was at a £500,000 semi-detached home in Enfield, north London
High life: Plumber Hugh Doyle who is originally from Ireland, appears to enjoy flying planes and sailing boats, according to his social media profiles
Flying Squad officers have said they recovered a 'significant amount' of jewellery, gems and cash suspected to have been taken as part of their searches on the raided properties.
Police are said to be investigating whether the men - branded a 'Dad's Army' because of their age - allegedly carried out the heist to fund their retirement.
Officers were seen scouring the garden at the Readers house in Dartford yesterday armed with metal detectors, pitchforks and spades and two recently built homes on their property.
Meanwhile searches continued at the £300,000 Enfield home belonging to Doyle, who is originally from Ireland and describes himself as a Manchester City supporter and action movie enthusiast.
The self-employed businessman is believed to have given up a City job to run a heating and plumbing business called Associated Response.
A motorcycle bearing the firm's livery was parked outside his house. A Facebook page linked to the company shows the married father-of-two piloting small aircraft and crewing a yacht with friends.
One neighbour said: 'Everyone knows him. The local pub knows him very well. He was not a bad man, he was a helpful person … I am just very surprised.'
Another neighbour added: 'We had him here in the house to do a plumbing job … But it wasn't very well done. The water started coming through. He said somebody else would come but nobody came.
Forensic officers are seen searching the grounds of the £850,000 Dartford home of second hand car dealer Brian Reader, 76, and his son Paul, 50, with metal detectors (circled) on Wednesday afternoon
The house owned by Brian Reader, was raided on Tuesday, and the family have also been building a new property at the bottom of the garden (out of picture)
Police enter the house of Hugh Doyle, was arrested at this £300,000 semi-detached home in Enfield, north London
A team of officers were seen removing a number of items from a house in Enfield. A black vehicle was also removed from the driveaway
'That was a bit disappointing. He was friendly, over-friendly … I am more shocked than anything else.'
Less than 30 miles away, in Enfield, North London, police were conducting a fingertip search of at least three properties.
One is a £700,000 five-bedroom bungalow, which neighbours said is occupied by a 67-year-old man, his partner and her son, and was where a four-wheel drive jeep-style vehicle was towed away from.
Witnesses described officers in riot gear battering down the door. One said: 'There were quite a lot of people going in with those forensic suits. I thought it was drugs-related.'
The owner's mother said he is on holiday in Portugal with his pregnant wife and young daughter, and is not aware of what has happened.
She added: 'He's a postman … a great dad … He's never been in trouble or anything like that.'
In Bethnal Green, east London, the home of father-of-two William Lincoln, 59, was also at the centre of a forensic search.
Project: The Readers are building two new homes in the garden of their Dartford property, which police have also searched
Checks: Forensics were using a crow bar to lift up tiles and plaster in one of the new build properties on their land
More than 25 officers stormed the Reader's home on Tuesday morning and took them away for questioning
This £700,000 five-bedroom bungalow, which neighbours said is occupied by a 67-year-old man, his partner and her son, was where a four-wheel drive jeep-style vehicle was towed away from
Six officers removed bags of the ex-mechanic's clothes and reams of paper. A neighbour said: 'William is a big stocky bloke, East End through and through and a bit of a geezer, but I didn't think he'd be involved in something like this.'
Experts have said that £60million of gems was stolen, but originally feared that up to £200million of cash and jewels could have been taken.
Metropolitan Police earlier apologised after facing criticism over is handling of the break-in at Hatton Garden Safe Deposit Company in London's jewellery quarter.
It emerged that a call from a security firm about an intruder alert at the company shortly after midnight on Good Friday was deemed not to require a response.
Detectives from the Flying Squad apologised after confirming that alarm response procedures had not been followed, but rejected the suggestion that they were bungling 'Keystone Cops'.
Commander Peter Spindler said: 'On this occasion, the systems and processes that we have in place with the alarm companies weren't followed and, as a result of that, officers did not attend the premises when, in fact, they probably should have done and for that I want to apologise.'
Defending the Met's response, he added that the force took these types of crime very seriously, saying: 'At times we've been portrayed as if we have acted like Keystone Cops, but I want to reassure you that in the finest traditions of Scotland Yard, these detectives have done their utmost to bring justice to the victims of this callous crime.
'They've worked tirelessly and relentlessly, they've put their lives on hold over the last six or seven weeks to make sure that justice is served. They've exemplified the finest attributes of Scotland Yard detectives.'
A more detailed investigation into the defeat of the alarm system is continuing and Scotland Yard says it will share any lessons learnt.
The safe was left strewn with empty safety deposit boxes when police found it after the Easter weekend
The gang broke through this door to gain entry to the premises before going through 73 boxes
Way in: How the raiders are believed to have carried out the Hatton Garden heist by hiding in the offices, drilling into the lift shaft and abseiling into the basement
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