POLICE on Teesside are looking for well-heeled ram raiders.

The crooks smashed their way into a warehouse full of boxes of shoes - and stole 54 pairs of ladies shoes.

The stolen footwear is valued at £3,000. There was no one from the firm of Charles Clinkard available to comment on the theft from their premises on the Preston Farm Business Park, near Stockton.

But Cleveland Police are warning people against buying "cheap" shoes offered on the street.

A Force spokeswoman said: "They may think they are being offered a bargain but they are not - they are stolen items and the police should be contacted."

The thieves may be one step ahead of the law, but police say paint marks at the scene suggest the car they used as a battering ram was maroon.

Anyone with information about the offence should ring the police on (01642) 302226.