Gang of thieves ram-raid Sheffield family steel business

Four hooded men can be seen walking into the yard at JB Stainless and Alloys Ltd in Attercliffe before a Ford transit van is reversed through the gates and into the warehouse doors, breaking them open.

The thieves stole ‘a lot’ of stainless steel from the warehouse before making off on foot and in the van when the security guard arrived on the scene.

The theft took place at 9.45pm on June 2 at the business premises on Washford Road. The transit van is also believed to be stolen.

Alison Bamford, director JB Stainless and Alloys Ltd, said: “We have two CCTV videos, from different angles and believe that the group of males are in their 20s - 30s, but we could be wrong as the videos are unclear.

“Our security guard was at the scene within four minutes and the group of men ran off, whilst the driver left with our steel in the back of the van.

“The security guard followed the van for 40 minutes, whilst on the phone to police, but lost them at Parsons Cross, Sheffield.

“We also believe that three police cars chased them, but they still got away.”

Ian Barton, who runs Aggressive Perimeter Security and was the guard who chased the thieves said: “It was an intense moment.

“I arrived fast and they were about to load up a second van but I got there before they could. They would have stolen a lot more if they could have.

“We do security for a lot of steel businesses in Sheffield. A lot have been hit by thieves like these.”

Ms Bamford added: “This year has been an especially hard year for business, as we were massively affected by the Sheffield floods, earlier this year, as well as Brexit.

“If anyone knows any more information, or saw anything unusual that night, which could relate to this then please let us know.”