Thieves with a taste for champagne emptied a parked-up lorry of nine pallets of bubbly.

The theft occurred between 11pm on Sunday, January 11th and 5am on Monday, January 12th. The Hungarian-registered articulated HGV had been parked up for the night. The driver checked the trailer at 11pm and all was well. He awoke at 5am to find the nearside curtain of the trailer slashed and champagne from nine pallets removed.

The theft was all the more incredible because it happened in a layby right at edge of the A40 at Ross in full view of all the motorists travelling north towards the M50. The exact location was a pull-in lay-by on the northbound carriageway of the A40 opposite the VOSA weighbridge, just short of the Overross roundabout.

PC Ed Williams of the Vehicle Crime Unit at Hereford Police Station said:?"The thieves were very bold, committing the crime almost in front of everyone. Several hundreds of champagne bottles have been stolen. Because the lorry was parked at the side of the main road and close to a hedge, it was impossible to use a fork-lift to empty the trailer. The thieves had to remove the boxes of bubbly by hand. This must have taken some considerable time as each box only contained six bottles."

The stolen bottles, valued at £40,000, bore the 'Nicole d'Aurigny' label and were 75cl in volume and 12% alcohol. Champagne quaffers are asked to be on the alert for the label if offered on the cheap.

The thieves also attacked an Irish-registered HGV parked in front of the champagne lorry. The offenders again slashed the nearside curtain, but seeing the vehicle only contained Coca-Cola concentrate, they left the vehicle alone. However, the lorry subsequently had to return to Ireland as Coca-Cola would not accept the consignment for fear of contamination by the thieves.

"A great many drivers, particularly truckers, would have passed the scene of this theft during the early hours", said PC Williams. "Someone must have seen something - people moving about carrying boxes, another vehicle to take it all away. We would urge those people to come forward as soon as possible."

Anyone with information can contact PC Ed Williams or his colleagues on the Vehicle Crime Unit at Hereford Police Station on 0300 333 3000. Alternatively, callers can phone anonymously using the confidential Crimestoppers line of 0800 555111.