A £10,000 reward is being offered in a bid to catch thieves who stole "a substantial amount of cash" from a Tesco store in Cheshire after ram-raiding it in a car stolen in St Helens.

The robbery took place at the store in Lostock Gralam, near Northwich, at about 9.50pm on Wednesday, February 17, shortly after the store had closed. The raiders used a red Vauxhall Cavalier hatchback, stolen from Portico Lane, Eccleston, to ram the front doors of the store.

The car had been stolen some time between Tuesday, February 2, and Tuesday, February 9, and at the time of the raid the robbers had replaced the original L-registered plates with a false J registration.

After ramming the entrance doors two men, wearing balaclavas and dark clothing, got out of the car and stole a substantial amount of cash from cash machines being filled by Securicor staff. None of the Securicor staff or Tesco employees in the store at the time were threatened by the raiders, although a loaded revolver was found at the scene. The car was later found abandoned on the car park of the Red Lion public house in Park Lane, Pickmere.

A reward of £10,000 is being offered by Tesco and Securicor for any information leading to the arrest and conviction of the men who took part in the robbery. Police are particularly interested in hearing from anyone who may know anything about the theft of the car or of its whereabouts in the 10 days it was missing. They are also interested in talking to anyone in the motor trade who has recently made up a set of J-registered plates.

Anyone who can help can contact the CID at Northwich on 01606 48000, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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