New leads on M53 lorry hijacking

The lorry was hijacked on the M53 near Ellesmere Port

A reconstruction of a lorry hijacking in Cheshire has given police several new leads, officers have said.

The driver was tricked into pulling over on the M53 last week and forced at knifepoint to drive to Birkenhead where cigarettes valued at £1m were stolen.

A similar cab and trailer were placed on the motorway near Ellesmere Port on Thursday to jog the memories of drivers who may have seen the gang responsible.

Detectives said a number of witnesses have come forward with information.

The lorry driver, a 46-year-old man from Lancashire, was left "distraught" after the hijacking.

He was travelling from Deeside in North Wales to Birkenhead Docks when he was flagged down on 7 August.

We got quite a few interesting leads Det Sgt Nigel Parr

A Ford Galaxy, made to look like a Vehicle and Operators Services Agency (VOSA) car, pulled in front of the lorry and lit up its fake sign, as if to signal to the driver to pull over.

He stopped the lorry and four men armed with a knife forced him to drive to Birkenhead Docks.

Once there he was made to exchange his trailer for another containing cigarettes worth about £1m.

The gang then followed the lorry to Hapsford Services near Chester, where the trailer was detached and put on their own vehicle.

The driver was then forced to drive his cab to North Killingholme in North Lincolnshire.

A £50,000 reward has been offered for anyone with information which leads to conviction.

Officers from Cheshire Police were on Netherpool Road during the reconstruction, situated on either side of the slip road roundabout so they could question motorists who could have been in the area at the time.

Det Sgt Nigel Parr said: "We got quite a few interesting leads and I believe this exercise was thoroughly worthwhile.

"We're really pleased with the results but there's still a lot of work to do to.

"We'd still urge people to come forward with any information, no matter how insignificant they may think it is."