Thieves with an expensive taste in booze stole a huge 26-litre bottle of vintage champagne from a shop.

The £600 bottle, which is about three feet tall, was stolen after a paving slab was thrown through a window of Unwins Wine Merchants in Coggeshall Road, Braintree.

Two magnums of champagne and a wooden crate of special edition millennium claret were also stolen, bringing the value of the haul to £1,500.

A spokesman for Unwins said: "I think they would find it extremely hard to get rid of it. They must have found it very hard to carry."

Police are appealing for witnesses to the burglary to contact Braintree police station on 01376 551312 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555111

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