POLICE traced a stolen lorry belonging to a Dartford company with the help of a state-of-the-art tracking device.

A 7.5-tonne lorry operated by CEI Transportation Services, based at Crossways Business Park, was carrying high-value printing equipment when it was stolen in Liverpool on February 7. The driver reported the truck missing at 6am but within minutes the firm's transport manager, Steve Juby, was tracking the vehicle with a system called Orchid.

It uses satellite technology with street level mapping to track the exact position, speed and direction of a vehicle within metres. Mr Juby then directed police to the lorry which was found 10 miles away in the same city.

Mr Juby said: "I'm delighted that we were able to pinpoint the stolen vehicle's location so quickly and retrieve it with the minimum amount of effort. The speed of the system was excellent as we avoided the tremendous inconvenience and loss of business that the theft of this lorry would have caused."