Factory stripped of valuables in three-day raid

A GANG of thieves spent three days stripping a famous Tyneside factory site of valuables in a targeted raid.

- By ROB KENNEDY

The men travelled 250 miles from Luton to break into the site of the former Nestle factory in Newcastle, where they stole tools and copper worth £43,000.

In June last year, the site in Fawdon, Newcastle, now home to Country Style Foods, was being renovated, with contractors on site carrying out the work, Newcastle Crown Court heard.

On the evening of Friday, June 27, the factory was left secured but when the manager returned on Monday June 30, it was discovered that a burglary had taken place. Access had been gained by cutting a hole in a perimeter fence before entry was forced to the building.