THOUSANDS of pounds worth of car tyres and other garage equipment have been stolen in an overnight raid.

Around 120 tyres worth an estimated £6,000 were stolen from the garage in Consett, County Durham along with equipment used for MoT testing.

Burglars broke through a brick wall to get into the garage, which stands on a busy main road.

The burglary happened at The Grove Garage, in Deneburn Terrace at some point between 6pm last night (Tuesday, October 23) and 7.30am this morning (Wednesday, October 24).

Among the items stolen were specialist snow tyres bearing the Sunny brand together with others by Mohawk and Kumho.

The other equipment included a £500 heater, a green compressor with the initials SIP on it, worth £200; a Bradbury smoke meter used to test diesel emissions and a red snap-on trolley jack.

Detective Constable Helen Tindale, of Consett CID, said the burglars had broken through an outer brick wall to gain access to the testing centre compound and had deactivated an alarm.

She added: "I would appeal to anyone who saw any suspicious activity in the vicinity of the garage last night or in the early hours of this morning to contact us.

"It is situated on a busy road leading towards Castleside and Moorside and is near to a funeral directors and a working men’s club.

"The thieves must have used a large vehicle to transport the stolen items and it is quite possible legitimate business people might be approached by someone trying to sell them."

Consett CID can be contacted via the non-emergency number 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.