THE FINAL THIRD

Just a week after our story about the release of the new England away kits, we have a story the is something out of a Guy Ritchie film.

Armed raiders have stolen 50,000 new-design England away shirts worth £2million from a lorry.

The terrified driver was kidnapped at gunpoint in the early morning hold-up on an industrial estate.

Four men in balaclavas smashed the cab windows, bundled the trucker into a people carrier and took the whole container-load. The shirts – designed for the World Cup and red like the 1966 kit – were due to go on sale on March 3.

An hour after the robbery, at an Umbro factory in Deeside, North Wales, the driver, 37, was dumped unharmed 50 miles away in Wigan.

He was badly shaken and had to find a police station to tell of his ordeal.

The black Volvo FH12 Sleeper cab he had been in was later found burnt out around 10 miles away. An Umbro spokesman said: “We encourage anyone who is offered suspicious England away shirts to report it to the police. We thank the driver and wish him all the best.”

Gtr Manchester police said: “He told us he’d been kidnapped by four men in balaclavas. He was bundled into a car and abandoned in Lowton near Wigan. He’d no idea where he was. A passer-by helped him to a police station.”

Sgt Craig Turner of North Wales Police, leading the inquiry into Wednesday’s raid, said: “The driver was uninjured but very shocked.

“Deeside Industrial Estate, where the lorry was hijacked, is busy, especially in the morning. We are keen to speak to anyone who saw anything suspicious.”

The owner of the truck, Warrington-based firm Ray Stewart Haulage, whose name was on the vehicle in gold and black, said: “We just want anyone with information to come forward. Our thoughts are with the driver now.”

Who would have thought that the England kit would need an armed escort!

Kasabian unveiled the new England away kit at his concert in Paris last night. Somehow Umbro must have realized that none of their captains were really worthy of showing it off at this point so they took a different route.

One lucky Parisian gets to take the jersey home and burn it tonight.

spotted at ONTD