Thieves Make Off With £115,000 of Guinness in Runcorn Depot Raid

Two HGV trailers loaded with more than 800 barrels of the famous stout — enough for around 70,000 pints — were driven away from a Cheshire logistics site bound for pubs across the country.

Cheshire Police are hunting for the culprits behind a brazen overnight theft that saw two heavy goods vehicles, each loaded with kegs of Guinness destined for licensed premises, driven away from a depot in Runcorn.

The theft took place at the Whitehouse Industrial Estate on Aston Lane on Monday evening, with officers confirming that more than 800 barrels of the stout were taken in total. Each barrel holds around 88 pints, putting the combined haul at roughly 70,000 pints with an estimated value of £115,000.

According to police, the raid was carried out in two stages. The first trailer was taken at around 19:45 BST, with a second HGV stolen from the same site approximately 90 minutes later, at about 21:30.

Once the vehicles and their contents are accounted for, the total cost of the theft — including the trailers themselves — is put at close to £205,000.

Witnesses reported seeing one of the lorries travelling towards the Mersey Gateway bridge, while the second was last seen heading towards Rainhill and Watkinson Way. Police believe both vehicles were driven by men.

The driver of the first HGV has been described as a white man with a short, dark beard, wearing a beanie hat. The second driver is understood to have been wearing a cap.

Both trailers are white tri-axle curtain-siders carrying branding for logistics firm GXO, visible on the curtains and rear doors. Each trailer carries a unique identification number in the top left corner of its rear doors; the two vehicles involved are numbered DL736 and DL542.

Detective Sergeant McClatchy, leading the investigation, urged anyone with information to come forward, remarking: “It is famously said that ‘Guinness is good for you’, but that is only the case when it has been bought and paid for.”

Cheshire Police has asked members of the public, hauliers and licensees who may have spotted either trailer, or who have information about the theft, to get in touch.