STEEL pallets worth £20,000 have been taken in the theft of an articulated lorry trailer at Hartlebury.

Police have alerted scrap metal dealers to be wary if they are offered pallets of the type taken from Midland Haulage Services, at Crown Lane, Waresley between 6pm on Tuesday and 6.30am yesterday.

The 80 grey collapsible pallets were on the 40 ft trailer, worth £3,500.

A police spokesman said: "As the pallets are used exclusively by Vauxhall alongside their assembly lines, they would appear to be of no use to anyone else, other than for scrap."

Police also want to hear from anyone who saw anything suspicious, such as strangers and unfamiliar vehicles.