Two brothers who ambushed a gang of motorbike thieves in Greenhithe, Kent, have been jailed for more than 40 years.

Colin Nourse, 42, and sibling Christopher, 45, spotted the group of men hovering around their bikes parked outside Colin’s house. The thieves left after being disturbed by a neighbour, but Colin & Chris had a feeling they would return and so prepared themselves for action.

Sure enough, the gang returned later that evening only to find the brothers laying in wait. Both had guns and Christopher Nourse opened fire, shooting one of the men in the arm.

Terrified neighbours called the police and when they turned up, they found 15 bullet casings from two firearms at the scene.

By that point, the brothers had driven off to Christopher’s home in London, but were arrested when they later returned to the scene. Both men have since been charged with attempted murder, reports Metro.

Christopher was found guilty of the attempted murder charge an another of possessing a prohibited firearm and was jailed for 30 years. His brother Colin was cleared of attempted murder but convicted of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life and handed a 14-year sentence.

Detective Superintendent Gavin Moss said: ‘These two men decided to arm themselves with firearms after somebody sought to steal their motorcycles. This was extremely reckless and, when one of them discharged his weapon in a residential area, it is only by chance that a member of the public unconnected with the incident did not suffer a fatal injury.’

So yeah, perhaps it wasn’t the brightest idea in the world if they had considered the long-term implications of it, but still, what a bonding experience for these two brothers! Imagine you and your brother dishing out some vigilante justice by laying in wait for a gang of bike thieves and then showering them with bullets when they turn up at your doorstep. It really doesn’t get better than that, as far as brotherly bonding goes.

Of course, we can’t have random untrained people firing guns in residential areas and I guess that’s why the Nourse brothers are being made an example of with those lengthy sentences. Both brothers will have to serve two thirds of their jail terms before they are eligible for parole, after which they will have to complete a further four years on licence.

For the ’24 Hours in Police Custody’ driver who was jailed after crashing into two would-be burglars, click HERE.