Thieves kidnapped a lorry driver and stole his vehicle along with its £250,000 cargo.

The 31-year-old driver was forced into the boot of a car on the A34 south of the M40 junction between Bicester and Kidlington.

He had been carrying Dell computer equipment when a car travelling behind flashed him at 8pm yesterday.

The driver assumed something was wrong with his lorry and pulled into a lay-by near the Islip turn.

When he get out he was confronted by a man wearing a bala- clava who forced him into the boot of a car.

He was driven around for about half an hour. The car stopped for about two hours, and then started again.

The car eventually stopped at about 11.30pm south of Kidlington.

The lorry driver was freed and told to run away across fields. But as soon as the car had left he flagged down a passing driver who rang the police.

The lorry driver, who lives in Wolverhampton, was taken to the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, for treatment to a blow to the head and was allowed home earlier today (Friday).

The lorry came from Limerick, Ireland, and was bound for Madrid. It is still missing.

Police today appealed for information. The lorry is white with orange markings and an orange logo reading Carna - an international transport company based in Armagh, Northern Ireland.

Det Sgt Howard Berry said: "We believe the lorry will have been abandoned and the computer equipment transferred to a different lorry or to a trailer.

"It is probably in a lay-by or on an industrial estate.

"It was a frightening experience for the driver. It is a busy road.

"The hijacking took place while it was still light so a passing driver might have seen something suspicious happening in the lay-by."

Anyone with information should contact police on 01865 846955 or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.