Thieves make off with £115,000 worth of Guinness from Cheshire depot
About 800 barrels of Guinness — more than 70,000 pints — were stolen from a warehouse in Runcorn, Cheshire, in an operation involving two hijacked lorry trailers. Police are appealing for witnesses and dashcam footage.
Cheshire police are investigating the theft of roughly 800 barrels of Guinness, worth an estimated £115,000, from a packaging warehouse on the Whitehouse Industrial Estate in Runcorn. The facility belongs to Diageo, the company that owns the Guinness brand.
According to investigators, a lorry arrived at the site on Aston Lane at around 7.45pm on Monday and connected to a waiting trailer, leaving roughly ten minutes later in the direction of the Mersey Gateway bridge. A second lorry pulled up at the same location about an hour later, hitched to another trailer, and departed around 9.30pm heading towards Rainhill and Watkinson Way.
Both trailers were white, tri-axle, curtain-sided units branded with the logo of logistics firm GXO, each bearing a unique identification number on the rear doors. Police believe both lorries were driven by men — the first described as white, with a short dark beard and wearing a beanie hat, the second wearing a cap.
A detective sergeant identified as McClatchy said the force had launched an urgent inquiry to identify those responsible, noting that including the two stolen trailers, the total loss is valued at around £205,000. Investigators say they will not be satisfied until everything taken is fully recovered.
The stolen barrels, containing an estimated 70,400 pints, had been destined for delivery to pubs. Police have asked anyone with information, including nearby motorists who may have relevant dashcam footage from the time of either incident, to come forward.
