INDUSTRIAL lighting equipment worth more than £30,000 has been stolen from two lorries at a Redditch factory.

Thieves cut the padlock off a car park barrier on Moons Moat Drive between 5pm on Wednesday, November 21 and approximately 4am the following day, before breaking into a compound to get to the lorries. The trailer curtains were cut and light fittings, cables and wiring taken.

PC Matt Davies of West Mercia Police said: "Clearly this was planned and the thieves would have needed a large vehicle to remove that amount of stock.

"It happened on the Moons Moat North Industrial Estate and there are a number of factories that operate there round-the-clock as well as a 24-hour McDonald's restaurant just down the road, so there may have been potential witnesses in the vicinity.

“We are particularly interested in speaking to anyone who was in Moons Moat Drive or Merse Road and saw or heard any suspicious activity there.

"The thieves must have been there for some time and may also have made a fair bit of noise.

"We understand a green, flat bed type truck was seen in the area around then so we are also interested in any sightings of that or any other similar vehicles that might have attracted attention."

Anyone with information should contact PC Davies at Redditch Police Station on the non-emergency number 101, quoting incident reference 12-N-221112, or details can be given anonymously to the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.