THREE thieves used a fork-lift truck to help steal £45,000 worth of precious metal from a Spa factory in broad daylight - despite a brave employee attempting to stop them.

The men, who are all believed to have Irish accents, were challenged by a member of staff at Doncaster Precision Castings as they used the fork-lift truck to lift the 'inconel billets' into a white Mercedes Sprinter van.

Although the employee tried to intervene, he was stopped from doing so by two of the men.

But a police spokesman said he was not assaulted.

The van was very overloaded and the tow-bar was almost touching the ground when it left the Vines Lane engineering plant at about 11.30am on Tuesday, April 5.

The police spokesman said: "It would appear that it took only about 10 minutes to drive onto the site, load the 3ft-long, cylindrical billets and drive off.

"This was an audacious theft and the perpetrators clearly knew what they were doing."

Police say the three white men involved were all wearing hats and hooded tops.

The first is said to be 5ft 10 ins tall, with light brown short hair and a tuft of hair below his mouth.

The second was 5ft 8ins tall, with a black eye and wearing a blue fleece and a dark blue or black hooded top, while the third man wore a green fleece cap, with the word 'Catterwood' on it, a green fleece top and dark tracksuit bottoms.

Police would like to hear from anyone who recognises their descriptions or who saw the van before or after the theft.

"Anyone travelling behind it could not have failed to notice how heavily-laden it was as the back was almost touching the ground. Its registration number, V231 POB, belongs to a white Vauxhall van from the Wolverhampton area," the spokesman added.

Police can be contacted on 08457 444888, quoting 42C/050405, or information can be given anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555111.