FRIDAY, November 13th was a very unlucky day for one lorry driver who was taking a valuable load of copper to South Wales. The driver of the articulated vehicle had stopped in the lay-by by the VOSA inspection site on the A40 at Ross at 5.10pm.

He was approached by two men from a white Transit van also stopped in the lay-by behind him.

Without warning, the two men bundled the driver into the van and drove off. He was then taken to a remote spot near Hambridge in Worcestershire and left at the side of the road. He was found by a police patrol just after 7.30pm.

When police then checked the VOSA lay-by in Ross, they found the artic cab unit still in place but the three-axled, 44' long, red curtain-sided trailer containing a very high-value copper load had been stolen.

The lorry driver was unharmed in the incident and did not require hospital treatment.

Detective Chief Inspector Sean Paley from Hereford CID, who is leading the hunt for the gang, said:?"We are appealing for witnesses from the many motorists who would have been passing the VOSA site at that time of day.

"Perhaps they may have seen the lorry driver talking with the two males in the VOSA lay-by or the trailer later being unhitched from the white cab and being re-hitched to another, before being driven away.

"This is a very serious offence and we are anxious to speak to anyone who saw any suspicious activity at the VOSA site that evening or who may have other information to offer about the crime."

Traffic passing the site at 5pm on a Friday evening would have been fairly heavy. Even though it was dark at the time and the weather conditions were poor, police are hopeful that some passers-by will have seen something even though they might not have registered it as unusual at the time.

Anyone with information should contact Det Sgt Mark Jinks from Hereford CID on 0300 333 3000 or call the free Crimestoppers line anonymously on 0800 555111.