THIEVES managed to steal cigarettes worth £10,000 from a delivery van that had been parked for only 20 minutes.

They prised open the back doors and made off with their haul while the delivery driver was taking stock to the shop in Front Street, Acomb, York.

He had parked and locked the white Iveco van in nearby School Street when he dropped off a range of supplies at the shop, between 11.25am and 11.45am on Wednesday.

When he returned, he found the back doors of the van had been opened and four large green boxes, each containing assorted brands of cigarettes, had been stolen.

Each box was worth about £2,500 and contained about 10,000 cigarettes in packs of ten and 20.

The driver had been due to deliver them to another shop in York.

A member of staff who was working in the shop at the time said the theft took place from behind the shop as the lorry driver was carrying in stock.

"As the delivery driver was bringing the stock in, his van got broken into and the cigarettes were taken," she said.

"No one saw who did it, it all happened very quickly."

A police spokesman said the van may have been targeted, but it could also have been a case of the thieves just "getting lucky".

Police would like to trace the driver of another white van, with a registration similar to Y45 TAW, which was seen in the area at the time of the theft.