Thieves run away with the circus! Entire big top tent is stolen by crooks

Police are desperately searching for a group of “criminal clowns” who absconded with a circus tent and trailer worth tens of thousands of pounds in Austria.

Between October 11 and 20, criminals are believed to have stolen circus equipment from a car park in Styria.

Investigators are still unsure how many thieves could be behind the heist and are continuing to search for clues with the help of the public.

They hope the trailer was probably taken away with a larger vehicle, with the big red tent on top.

The trailer was reported to have been abandoned outside a former warehouse on the Grazer Vorstadt road, which connects Graz to Voitsberg.

Police say the stolen items could be worth tens of thousands of euros together.

It is not clear from the report whether the tent and trailer were still in use.

Police are asking for help from locals who may have seen someone take the trailer.

In 2016, authorities were stunned when a trailer reported stolen in 2009 turned up more than 1,000 miles away.

The 14 meter trailer was found on Walton Summit Road in Bamber Bridge, Lancashire, in August 2016, seven years after it went missing in Austria.

Police said at the time that the trailer appeared to have been abandoned and had likely been at the location for up to a month.

In 2011, Austrian authorities investigated the disappearance of 21 tons of ketchup and mustard, apparently also stolen from a trailer.

They said the thieves could have gotten away with condiments worth up to £13,000.

The trailer was abandoned in a parking lot in Vienna.

In 2012, Austrian police stopped three trucks smuggling 9.5 tons of stolen garlic on their way to the Hungarian border.

The three Romanian drivers were charged with carrying 80 percent excess load and the garlic was confiscated.

The light bulbs were valued at 30,000 euros at that time.