Police warning over M6 thefts from HGVs

Dozens of LED TVs were stolen from the back of a lorry parked overnight at Stafford Services on the M6 while the driver was asleep, police have said. The thefts were part of a spate of robberies and attempted robberies reported to police in recent weeks.

Officers in Staffordshire said they received a call at 5.40am on 6 January after an HGV driver conducting his morning checks found the back of his vehicle had been accessed and containers opened. About 60 TVs had been stolen.

Earlier the same morning, officers had already been called out to the same location after four HGV trailers had their curtains slashed. Nothing was reported stolen. And on 5 January, police were called to the Hilton Park Services on the M6 northbound at 11.30pm after a driver, who was in his cab, heard noises in the back of his lorry. He found two male offenders dressed in dark clothing attempting to steal Bush TV sets through a slashed hole in the lorry trailer’s curtain. The men fled empty handed after being disturbed by the driver.

Police are reviewing CCTV footage of the areas at the time of the thefts and attempted thefts in an effort to track down the offenders. Giles Parsons, Chief Inspector at Staffordshire Police, said: “Working closely with the Central Motorway Police Group, we carry out regular patrols of our service areas across Staffordshire. Should anyone witness any suspicious activity we encourage them to report it to us.”