Suspected thief injured in stolen truck raid at Ledsham

Aug 19 2009 by Richard Down, Birkenhead News

A MANHUNT was launched after a gang rammed police cars and smashed their way through steel security gates in Wirral with £150,000 of stolen trucks.

One suspected thief has been arrested and bailed from his hospital bed after he was hit by one of the stolen HGVs in the car park of the Tudor Rose pub and Premier Inn, on Parkgate Road, Ledsham.

The 34-year-old, from Liverpool, was struck by a Volvo truck as he tried to escape from police at about 1.30am last Thursday.

He escaped with a fractured pelvis and was taken to the Countess of Chester Hospital, where he was reported to be in a stable condition.

Police arrested him and are holding him in custody at the hospital as he recovers from his injuries.

The remaining gang-of-three smashed their way past two police cars as they made off towards Heswall. None of the police officers was injured.

The thieves then dumped the tractor unit of one of the lorries on Badgers Rake Lane, close to Inglewood Manor about 500 metres away.

All three HGVs had been stolen from a haulage yard in Greenfield, near Holywell, North Wales, less than an hour earlier.

The group took a tractor unit with a 44-ton capability and two empty 26-ton lorries, one of which was relatively new.

HGVs like these are most commonly stripped down for parts and sold on the Continent. Police have recovered all three wagons, which have been forensically examined.

Officers have also searched the area for the remaining gang members, but despite CCTV footage of the raid at RJ Jones’s haulage firm, in Greenfield, near Holywell, there are no descriptions of the offenders.

A fourth Mercedes lorry was abandoned with the engine running and lights on after the gang could not work the elaborate gearbox at the warehouses.

CHESHIRE Police are appealing for any witnesses to call 0845 458 0000 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.