Two chemical tankers worth more than £200,000 were stolen during a raid on a Newport industrial estate.

Steve Hardwick, who owned the tankers which he stored at Audley Avenue Industrial Estate, discovered they had been taken yesterday afternoon.

He is now offering a reward of £5,000 for information which leads to the conviction of the thieves or the recovery of the tankers.

Mr Hardwick, director of Walsall-based Integrated Tanker Services, said the thieves must have been prepared with two tractor units to take the tankers away. He believes they were stolen overnight on Sunday.

Mr Hardwick said: “They are each worth more than £100,000 and were stolen from the storage yard. They are used to carry very nasty, dangerous chemicals called benzine and they weren’t officially cleaned out.

“There was no danger where it was because it was sealed in the tank, but whoever has taken these tanks won’t know it could pose such a danger.” Mr Hardwick said the thieves used oxy-acetylene cutting equipment to cut through the gate at the industrial estate and had probably stolen them to sell on or to cut down for scrap.

Denise Wakefield, Telford police spokeswoman, said: “We are eager to hear from anyone who saw the tankers during the weekend. They are described as two Hobur tankers, made of stainless steel and 11-metres long. They are extremely distinctive and we would appeal to anyone with information about the theft to come forward.”