BURGLARS who broke into a carpet factory used a forklift truck to ram their way through to the next-door firm.

Staff at Rolfe Carpets and Aurora, in the Lomeshaye Industrial Estate, Nelson, arrived at work yesterday morning to find the shutter doors which lead between the two companies smashed open.

The thieves had broken into the carpet firm overnight by taking a door panel from a fire exit. It was the second time in two weeks the premises had been targeted.

The raiders left with building wood worth around £450 from Rolfe Carpets, and a laptop computer from Aurora.

Barry Lockwood, who owns Rolfe Carpets, said: "I will do whatever it takes to find the people who broke in because they have caused a lot of mess and inconvenience, Then there's the bill for the shutters and the forklift.

"This is the second time we've been done in a couple of weeks, and this one looked like a professional job - they seem to have known what they were doing."

Inspector John Puttock said: "It is very unusual for something like this to happen.

"Industrial premises do get broken into but usually these burglars want to be in and out as soon as possible.

"This doesn't seem to be the case here.

"We will be studying CCTV footage and working hard to find out who did this."

Contact police on 01282 425001, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.