An online retailer has warned home owners and businesses to be vigilant following two recent thefts of outdoor furniture...

Last month, thieves stole rattan garden furniture, including 20 dining tables and around 100 dining chairs, from a prestigious wedding and conferencing venue in Belper, Derbyshire. Local police believe these stolen goods, worth several thousand pounds, would have required a lorry or vehicle of similar size to haul away.

White stores founder and MD James Whiteley says one of his customers, an award-winning hotel on the south coast of England, had to replace eight rattan loungers this month, at a cost of arond £1600, after thieves posed as staff members during a busy Sunday lunchtime.

"It just goes to prove that these brazen outdoor furniture thieves can strike at any time,” he said.

If you have been offered cheap outdoor garden furniture for sale under suspicious circumstances, you can call Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555 111.

Imagery:

A high-resolution photograph of the type of sun lounger recently stolen from White Stores' hotel customer is available for download from:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/wnpoa9r8flrb2yh/white-stores-maze-rattan-orlando-sunlounger-set.jpg