A LORRY driver was kidnapped and held hostage for around nine hours before being dumped near Bromsgrove.

He was only able to alert police after making his way to a petrol station, in Hunnington, at about 1.50pm on Wednesday March 12.

His articulated lorry was discovered later the same day, minus the load of Grants, Glenfiddich Special Reserve and Balvandine whisky valued at around £135,000, in Goole, Humberside.

The driver's ordeal began on the M74 at Annandale Motorway Services, near Lockerbie, in Dumfries and Galloway.

Officers say he was checking his vehicle when he was grabbed and forced into the cab of his lorry by an unknown number of men who spoke with a Liverpool accent.

The white Scania lorry, registration N773 MUS, had a red trailer with Smith of Whiteinch along the sides and was driven south on the M6 to Wigan, Lancashire, where the man, his face covered, was forced into a second vehicle, thought to be another lorry.

He was then dumped in woodland where he made his way to the Bell Moral Garage in Bromsgrove Road.

The proprietor, who didn't want to be named, said he was taken aback.

"I had just come back from my lunch break when I saw a man, in his late 40s approach the garage," he said.

"He was a little dishevelled and quite shaken, but remarkably well considering what he had been through.

" He wanted to know where he was and I called the police."

Police are now appealing for information and urging anyone approached to buy a large quantity of whiskey in suspicious circumstances to contact them on 01905 723000.

Alternatively make an anonymous call to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.