ALMOST 800 years of jail terms have been dished out to offenders including killers and rapists during the first 12 months of a new major crime unit.

The Major Crime Unit, made up of detectives across Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire, have taken on 38 fresh investigations, including shootings, murders, hijackings and rapes.

Since April 2012 a string of cases, some started prior to the collaboration, have concluded, with 10 life sentences passed down by the courts.

Judges have passed a total of 792 years’ imprisonment in minimum tariffs and jail terms for those responsible for some horrific crimes.

Detective Superintendent Jeff Hill said: “In this first year we have had some outstanding results in some complex and challenging investigations.

“It all adds up to the most dangerous people in society being taken off the streets and making Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Hertfordshire safer places to live.”

Investigations concluded in the last 12 months include the case of Paul Taylor, 60, who was jailed for life with a minimum 18 years for the murder of Sally McGrath in Peterborough in 1979 and a number of rapes and sexual assaults.

Christopher Nudds (aka Docherty-Puncheon), 34, was jailed for a minimum of 32 years for murdering 83-year-old Robert ‘Riley’ Workman near Buntingford, Hertfordshire, in January 2004. It was his second murder conviction.

Andrew Hall, 18, was jailed for a minimum of 15 years for murdering his 15-year-old girlfriend Megan Peat at a house in Ampthill, Bedfordshire, on June 9.