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Fifteen crooks pulled off an outlandish heist after stealing thousands of bottles of rare beer from a warehouse.

The gang spent two hours lifting the haul onto the back of a lorry after smashing a window to get inside the storage unit.

Police are now examining CCTV footage which is said to show around 15 raiders carrying out the daring break-in at internet firm Ales By Mail in Billericay, Essex.

The bottles were limited edition varieties of BrewDog Moshi Moshi 15, Interstellar, Hobo Pop and Brixton Porter which were due to go on sale next week.

Paul Kruzycki, managing director of Ales By Mail, has labelled the thieves 'scum of the earth' after being left to count the cost.

He told the BBC: "I've spent three or four years building up this business from nothing.

"The people who have done this are scum of the earth with no regard for people's livelihoods and it just sickens me.

"Only the BrewDog beers were taken while others nearby were untouched, so I don't know if they were targeted or the thieves just missed the others."

The beers were prototype brews which were due to retail for around £3 a bottle.

Inspector Mark Rayner, from Essex Police, appealed for anyone with information regarding the break-in, which took place between midnight and 2am on Monday, to come forward.

He said: "The beers are unique in that they are specialist beers which are only available online or from specialist wholesalers.

"All the boxes and bottles regardless of flavour or type have the BrewDog label on them so would be easily identifiable.

"We want to hear from anyone who has been offered any of these beers for sale or from anyone who has information about the burglary or any attempts to sell the bottles."