Great French cheese robbery: A ton of 'fromage' is taken from cellar while owner slept nearby

A cheese maker in France has almost a ton of premium product stolen from the cellar in the dead of night as thieves evaded capture while the owner was sleeping nearby.

Caroline Borrel told the France Bleu network that even though she lives close to the cellar that housed her Saint-Nectair cheeses, she heard nothing on the night in question.

According to the site, 650 blocks of the dairy product was taken, worth around €10,000 (£8,845). The cost of damages is likely to increase as the damage to the cellar's door is evaluated.

Borrel said that to put off further robberies, she has now installed and alarm system and several surveillance cameras to protect her dairy produce. Local authorities are investigating the theft. She believed that there was more than one burglar.

It's not the first time criminals have stolen cheese. In August 2017, a man was caught at the Russian border attempting to smuggled 100kg of Finnish cheese into the country.

In an official statement, the Russian border agency said: "During the inspection of the vehicle we found a cache disguised as a fuel tank, which contained 67 pieces of cheese sealed in packs and weighing about 100 kilograms." The cheese was confiscated.