More than 22 tonnes of cheddar stolen from cheesemongers in elaborate heist

The cheese was worth more than £300,000

Neal's Yard Dairy, a distributor and retailer of British artisan cheese, sent 950 clothbound cheeses, worth more than £300,000, to fraudsters posing as legitimate wholesalers for a big French retailer.

The Southwark-based company only realised it was fake firm after they had delivered the award-winning cheeses to the fraudsters.

The cheeses stolen were high-value cheddars Hafod Welsh (£12.90 for 300g), Westcombe, (£7.15 for 250g), and Pitchfork (£11 for 250g).

Whilst Neal's Yard is now trying to cope with the significant financial impact of the fraud, they have still paid the producers of the cheese, the Guardian reports.

In a post on Instagram, the company urged the cheesemonger community to let them know if they are offered or receive any of the stolen cheeses.

They wrote: "We would like to put out a call to everyone within our esteemed community of cheesemongers around the world. If anyone is offered or receives cheeses they believe may have been associated with this theft, particularly clothbound Cheddars in a 10kg or 24kg format with the tags detached, please contact info@nealsyarddairy.co.uk so we can support the police in their investigation."

The Metropolitan Police confirmed they are investigating the alleged theft and that "enquiries are ongoing into the circumstances."

No arrests have yet been made.

Patrick Holden, who owns the farm where Hafod cheddar is made, said: "The artisan cheese world is a place where trust is deeply embedded in all transactions.

"It’s a world where one’s word is one’s bond. It might have caused the company a setback, but the degree of trust that exists within our small industry as a whole is due in no small part to the ethos of Neal’s Yard Dairy’s founders."

Tom Calver, from Westcombe Dairy, said: "The process of making that cheese started almost three years ago, when we planted seeds for the animals’ feed.

"The amount of work that’s gone into nurturing the cows, emphasising best farming practice, and transforming the milk one batch at a time to produce the best possible cheese is beyond estimation.

"And for that to be stolen… it’s absolutely terrible."