Two LGVs were hijacked in separate incidents in the West Midlands last week. In the early hours of Monday 23 July an Austrian LGV driver, who had parked up in the Erdington area of Birmingham, was awoken by a white male of about 45 and slim build wearing a high visibility jacket saying that someone was under the trailer. The driver got out of the cab to investigate and was attacked by the man and another stocky white male of about 50. The LGV unit was stolen.
The trailer, minus its load,
was recovered later that day in West Bromwich and the cab was found on Wednesday on the A5 near Weeford, Staffordshire.
The second incident took place between 4am and 4.45am on Wednesday 25 July when an LGV driver spotted his rear doors swing open as he travelled along the A463 near Willenhall. The driver stopped to investigate and was attacked by several men. He was bundled into the boot of the vehicle the men had come from. The driver was dumped in Cheslyn Hay, Staffordshire at about 6am.
The cab and trailer, without the load of stainless steel, were recovered later that day in Wolverhampton due to GPS tracking in both units. The tachograph had been removed and destroyed. In a statement TruckPol says the modus operandi has been used several times in the Midlands during 2006 to get HGVs to stop.
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