Thieves stole more than 250 live crabs from a seafood processing plant just hours after they were landed by fishermen.

 Daily Telegraph 29/07/2008

Police believe the 330lbs haul of fresh brown crabs, worth £300, was stolen to order for the restaurant trade.

Without water tanks or an industrial chiller, the crabs would die within hours, according to victims David and Joan Mitchell from Lymington, Hants.

The crabs were stolen overnight from the couple's shellfish processing plant, where they boil them and dress the meat for sale to shops and restaurants.

Mrs Mitchell, 65, said: "I think the crabs could well have been stolen to order - why else would anyone want so many live crabs?

"The people who did this would have needed a chiller or water tanks and a large vehicle to transport them without them perishing, so it must have been planned.

"My concern is that if they didn't have any means of keeping them cool, the crabs would have died and gone bad very quickly, particularly in this warm weather.

"It's immensely frustrating and really damaging to our business."

Mr Mitchell, 66, a retired fisherman, said: "That number of crabs could have been a day's catch for a local fisherman."

A Hampshire Constabulary spokesman said: "Officers are investigating the possibility that these crabs were stolen to order for a customer outside the area, maybe a London restaurant."

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