COOKING oil worth about £500 was stolen from the West Midland Safari Park in Bewdley.

The oil was in 33 boxes stolen from a catering store room after thieves broke into the site between 6.30pm on Tuesday, March 30 and 7am the following day.

Each box contained 20 litres of oil in smaller boxes, measuring approximately 18 inches by 8 inches, with a yellow teardrop logo on the sides.

PC Julian Ward said: “We would like to hear from anyone who knows anything about this theft and would ask caterers in the area to get in touch if they have been offered any of this oil for sale.

“During the night the gates to the safari park should be secure and no-one has access to and from the site. Therefore if anyone ever sees any vehicles going into or leaving the park during the night they should give us a call immediately.”

Witnesses or anyone with information about the cooking oil theft should call PC Ward on 0300 333 3000, quoting incident reference 117-S-310310, or ring Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.