Top sports cars snatched in ram-raid

Top-of-the-range high performance sports cars worth more than £300,000 have been stolen from a Black Country dealership during a ram-raid.

Thieves broke into Xtreme UK Ltd in Lye, near Stourbridge, just seven minutes after staff had left for the day just after 5.30pm on Saturday. Just over three hours later, ten top cars – including a Lamborghini Gallardo, a Porsche 911, two Subaru Imprezas, three Mitsubishi Evolutions and a Renault Clio V6 – had been removed from the showroom.

A truck was used to ram open roller shutter doors and CCVT pictures show the cars being taken out during as many as seven trips.

Managing director James Challis discovered the cars had gone when staff came to open up yesterday.

He said he had at first envisaged being the victim of an "Oceans Eleven" professional-style job involving scores of people.

But Mr Challis said he now believed the raid at the showroom on The Old Forge Estate industrial park, Dudley Road, only involved three or four people.

He said: "There are things that keep cropping up that just make me think that.

"For instance along with the cars, tea, coffee, sugar and cups were taken, but more expensive computer equipment was left behind.

"And our CCTV seems to show that the thieves made as many as seven trips to and from the garage to take the 10 cars over a long period.

"We have electric roller shutters and it seems to me a truck was used to ram them after the thieves had got in through the front door and smashed the alarm.

"The cars were then driven straight out – but because of the amount of trips, I would say no more than three or four people were involved."

Mr Challis believed the thieves would have been watching the firm.

Three of the cars, including the two most expensive, the Porsche and the Lamborghini, have already been recovered by police.

The Lamborghini was found in Parkfields, Wolverhampton, while the Porsche was discovered in Sedgley.

Anyone with information call CID on 0845 113 5000.