A GANG stole TVs worth £128,000 during a raid on a lorry while the driver slept.

Police said the 64 public display screens were taken in a raid by six men at the Altham Business Park on Monday.

They used a lorry to transport the NEC 40-inch LCD screens away after breaking into a wagon.

Police said the vehicle containing the screens had pulled up at Micro Peripherals, a trade-only IT distributor, for a delivery on Monday morning.

Sgt Ian Corbett said the driver then went to sleep in his cab before the theft happened around 3.50am.

He said a 7.5-tonne lorry, which had a blue cab and a white body, was reversed into position alongside the delivery vehicle.

A lock on the rear of the vehicle was broken and the screens were moved from one to the other.

Witnesses said the vehicle, which appeared to contain six men, then drove off from the site.

The screens are worth around £2,000 each.

Sgt Corbett said: "This was a well-organised and high-value theft.

"The offenders were able to steal the screens without waking the driver."

Police are studying CCTV at the site and talking to security guards who saw the lorry leaving.

A spokesman for Micro Peripherals said the theft did not take place on their property and they refused to confirm how many items were stolen.

Police have been working with companies in the Altham Business Park, off Burnley Road, to warn of the danger of parking wagons at the site before deliveries.

Signs are posted in different languages to advise drivers to park in a secure compound nearby.

Sgt Corbett added: "Drivers will always be vulnerable if they park up overnight on the street with a wagon full of merchandise."

Call police on 01254 51212 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.