A VALE transport firm hit with a massive crime bill has been targeted again.

Thieves stole £1,500 worth of Garners' pickled onions and catering-sized tins of Margetts fruit fillings and jams when they broke into the trailer of a Leyland DAF lorry at R. Sinclair Transport Limited in Davies Road, Evesham, between 1pm last Saturday (March 16) and 3.30am on Monday (March 18).

Director Ron Sinclair said the company had suffered from less vandalism and theft since police patrols were increased at the firm, which had to fork out £100,000 last October after a series of incidents where thieves had stolen the contents from several lorries and in one incident, the lorry itself. In one theft the raiders stole £11,000 worth of pharmaceutical toiletries.

Mr Sinclair said of the latest incident: "They've got into the cab, smashed the steering lock and tried to steal a 7.5 ton lorry, but the vehicle was immobilised and that is what's defeated them. They also broke into one or two other vehicles.

"After past episodes we have had, we spent a lot of money on the security of the vehicles and I think we've done as much as we can.

"We are an open-plan estate and we are still being targeted, but this is the first attempt that we've had in a couple of months and incidents are no longer to the scale that we have encountered in the past.

"We have seen a reduction in vandalism and theft and I trust this is thanks to the increased surveillance by the police."