RUNCORN, England — More than 70,000 pints of Guinness worth about £115,000 have been stolen from a depot in Cheshire after thieves drove away with two loaded HGV trailers in separate incidents on the same evening.
Cheshire Police said more than 800 barrels were taken from the Whitehouse Industrial Estate on Aston Lane in Runcorn on Monday. When the value of the two stolen trailers is included, the total loss is estimated at around £205,000.
The barrels had been intended for delivery to pubs, while police are now trying to trace the trailers, identify the drivers and recover the shipment.
How the Guinness theft happened
The first lorry entered the Aston Lane area at about 7.45pm and connected to an HGV trailer containing Guinness.
It left the site at around 7.55pm, heading in the direction of the Mersey Gateway Bridge.
A second lorry arrived at approximately 9.12pm, connected to another Guinness-filled trailer and left at around 9.30pm, travelling towards Rainhill and Watkinson Way.
The theft therefore involved the removal of two already-loaded trailers rather than transferring hundreds of barrels into other vehicles at the site.
More than 800 barrels were taken
The stolen load amounted to about 70,400 pints of Guinness across more than 800 barrels. Based on those figures, each barrel represented roughly 88 pints.
The beer alone is valued at approximately £115,000.
Diageo, the company that owns Guinness, has a packaging warehouse on the Whitehouse Industrial Estate, and the missing barrels were due to be distributed to pubs.
Police release key trailer details
The two missing trailers are described as white tri-axle curtain-side trailers carrying GXO branding on the side curtains and rear doors.
Police have also released their identifying numbers: DL736 and DL542. The numbers are displayed near the top-left corner of the rear doors.
Those details could be crucial because the trailers may have been captured on CCTV, road cameras or motorists’ dashcams after leaving Runcorn.
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What police know about the drivers
Police believe both lorries used in the theft were driven by men.
The first driver is described as a white man with a short dark beard who was wearing a beanie hat. The second driver is believed to have been wearing a cap.
No suspects have been publicly identified in the information released so far.
Why the total value reaches £205,000
The £115,000 figure refers to the Guinness itself. Cheshire Police estimate the combined value of the stolen beer and the two trailers at approximately £205,000.
That makes the case more than an unusual alcohol theft. Investigators are also searching for two significant pieces of commercial transport equipment.
Elsewhere in the UK, businesses have also faced heightened scrutiny over operational and compliance issues, including the recent case in which hundreds of employers were named over minimum-wage underpayments.
Will the theft cause a Guinness shortage?
There is currently no verified evidence of a wider Guinness shortage linked to the Runcorn theft.
The barrels were intended for pub deliveries, but no nationwide supply warning has been announced. Claims that pubs across Britain could run out of Guinness would therefore go beyond the confirmed facts.
Police appeal for dashcam footage
Investigators want to hear from anyone who saw suspicious activity around Aston Lane or who may have seen the two lorries after they left the estate.
Drivers travelling near the Mersey Gateway route, Rainhill or Watkinson Way at the relevant times have been asked to review dashcam footage.
Detective Sergeant McClatchy said police want the full recovery of the stolen property.
Anyone with information can contact Cheshire Constabulary or call 101, quoting incident reference IML-2408641.
Police have not yet publicly explained how the offenders gained access to the loaded trailers, whether they knew what was inside them in advance, or where the vehicles went after leaving the routes identified by investigators.
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