FACEBOOK users have been thanked for helping a Mobberley-based firm to track down a stolen truck.

Thieves stole a tractor unit and trailer from the Lymm motorway services, at the junction of the M6 and M56, in the early hours of Friday.

The vehicles belonged to Egertons Recovery Group, and were driven about 20 miles to Skelmersdale, where the trailer was abandoned and the thieves tore off a tracking device.

However the thieves hadn’t reckoned with the quick-thinking of Egertons sales director Patrick Riley and the angry response to the theft from the company’s huge and loyal following on Facebook.

Patrick put an appeal for help on Facebook, and four hours after his plea on social media the missing Scania tractor unit was spotted near Liverpool.

The Facebook user who saw it contacted the police, and later that day the vehicle was recovered and was on its way back home.

“The Scania unit and Landol trailer were stolen from the services at about 1.30am and driven to Skelmersdale,” said Patrick.

“I put an appeal on Facebook at 3.35am asking people to look out for a Scania tractor unit, in bright yellow Egertons livery, and gave the registration number.

“It went viral, and people were contacting me saying they had seen it on the motorway.”

The appeal generated thousands of hits on Facebook, and at 7.25am Patrick posted a message to say the tractor unit had been found.

“The response from people was fantastic, and I would like to thank everyone for their help,” he said.

“They were all looking for the tractor unit, and the support was brilliant.

“People like our Facebook page, and what happened shows the power of social media.”

Egertons Recovery Group is one of the country’s leading recovery operators, and has been in the vehicle recovery business for 48 years.