More than 800 barrels of Guinness worth £115,000 stolen from UK depot

Police have launched an appeal after thieves stole more than 70,000 pints worth of Guinness from a depot.

Around 800 barrels of stout, with an estimated value of £115,000, were taken in two HGV trailers from an industrial estate in Runcorn on Monday, a Cheshire Constabulary spokesperson said.

The force hopes to achieve a complete recovery of the stolen items and is urging any witnesses who saw a lorry entering the Aston Lane area at roughly 7.45pm to assist.

Detective Sergeant McClatchy said:“It is famously said that ‘Guinness is good for you’, but that is only the case when it has been bought and paid for.

“It is with this in mind that we have wasted no time in launching enquires to identify those responsible for the theft of £115,000 worth Guinness and the two trailers that housed the barrels – we will settle for nothing less than the full recovery of all the items stolen.

“As part of our investigation into fully established what has occurred, we are now appealing to anyone who has any information in relation to the theft to please come forward and speak to officers.

“We would also ask any motorists who were driving in the area at the time of either of the incidents to please review any dashcam footage to see if you have captured anything that could aid our investigation.”

The lorry is said to have connected to an HGV trailer containing the Guinness and left the site at about 7.55pm in the direction of the Mersey Gateway bridge.

A second lorry arrived at the same site at 9.12pm and connected to another trailer, which also contained barrels of Guinness, before leaving at 9.30pm in the direction of Rainhill and Watkinson Way, police said.

The stolen barrels, containing around 70,400 pints of the Irish tipple, had been intended to be delivered to pubs.

Diageo, which owns Guinness, has a packaging warehouse on the Whitehouse Industrial Estate on Aston Lane.

Police say both HGVs were believed to have been driven by men.

The first driver is described as white with a short dark beard and he was wearing a beanie hat, while the second is believed to have been wearing a cap.

It is estimated the total value of the items stolen, including the trailers and the Guinness, is about £205,000.

The trailers are described as white tri-axle curtain side trailers with branding for logistics company GXO on curtains and rear doors.

The trucks have the unique ID numbers DL736 and DL542 on the top left corner of their rear doors.

The force has appealed for anyone with information or any drivers who may have dashcam footage to contact them on the website, or by calling 101 and using incident reference number IML-2408641.