Hunt for £1m cigarette hijackers

A lorry similar to the one targetted by the hijackers

A £50,000 reward has been offered for information about a gang from Northern Ireland who carried out a £1m hijacking in the north of England.

Earlier this month five men posed as vehicle inspectors and tricked a lorry driver into pulling over.

The gang ordered him to go to docks near Liverpool and swap his trailer for another containing £1m worth of cigarettes.

The gang later took the trailer away on their own vehicle.

Police said the 46-year-old lorry driver was left "distraught" by the ordeal.

They said four of the five-strong gang had Northern Irish accents. One was armed with a knife.