Thieves run away with the circus! Entire big top tent is stolen by crooks
- Police are appealing to the public to help in their search for a missing giant red tent
Police are desperately searching for a group of ‘crime clowns’ who made off in Austria with a circus tent and trailer worth tens of thousands of pounds.
It is believed that thugs stole circus equipment from a car park in Styria between October 11 and 20.
Investigators aren’t yet sure how many thieves could be behind the heist and are still looking for clues with public assistance.
They expect they probably took the trailer with a larger vehicle, with the big red tent on top.
The trailer is said to have been left outside an old warehouse on the Grazer Vorstadt road, which connects Graz with Voitsberg.
In recent days, police shared a photo of the stolen tent in Styria, in southeastern Austria
They say the caravan and tent could be worth tens of thousands of pounds
According to the police, the stolen items could together be worth tens of thousands of euros.
The report does not indicate whether the tent and trailer were still in use.
The police are asking for help from local residents who may have seen someone removing the caravan.
In 2016, authorities were stunned when a trailer reported stolen in 2009 turned up more than 1,000 miles away.
The 45ft trailer was found on Walton Summit Road in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, in August 2016, disappearing for seven years in Austria.
Police said at the time that the trailer appeared abandoned and had likely been at the site for a month.
In 2011, Austrian authorities investigated the disappearance of 21 tons of ketchup and mustard, also apparently stolen from a trailer.
They said the thieves could have gotten away with as much as £13,000 worth of spices.
The trailer was left behind in a parking lot in Vienna.
In 2012, Austrian police stopped three trucks smuggling 9.5 tons of stolen garlic on their way to the Hungarian border.
The three drivers from Romania were accused of transporting 80 percent excess cargo and the garlic was seized.
The bulbs had a value of 30,000 euros at the time.