Thieves have escaped with more than £125,000 worth of trainers after slicing open the curtain of a lorry while the driver slept in his cab at a service station.
Police have launched an appeal for information after the Veja-branded shoes were stolen in the daring raid on a parked articulated lorry at Annandale Water service station near Johnstonebridge in the early hours of Tuesday morning.
The suspects reportedly drew their own 7.5-tonne lorry along the side of the trailer, before cutting it open and making off with around half of the load.
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They escaped after the driver of the lorry woke up and disturbed them.
Veja trainers - made in France - sell for around £100-a-pair and have experienced a surge in popularity in recent years due to their promise of manufacturing clothing from sustainable materials.
It is thought 17 pallets of the trainers were removed from the original lorry.
Officers in Dumfries and Galloway have asked anyone with information on the theft to come forward.
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PC Calum Benson, leading the investigation into the incident, said: “"The shoes, both men's and women's, are all French made, and the value of the haul is in excess of £125,000."
"I am keen to hear from anyone who may have used the services in the early hours of this morning to get in touch if they saw or heard anything suspicious."
He added: "The thieves drove off in a 7.5 tonne rigid lorry which had a white cab and a blue body, when they were disturbed."
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