PCs John 'Geordie' Forster, left, and Ivor Noyce receive their Order of Merit awards ( Ref 14374/2/AS)Marlborough policemen Ivor Noyce and John 'Geordie' Forster have collected special awards from their divisional commander.

The Order of Merit awards from Chief Superintendent Jerry Wickham recognised the pair's diligence and observation that resulted in the arrest of a gang of crooks.

The officers' families attended the awards presentation at Marlborough Police Station on Thursday and heard Ch Supt Wickham praise the men for their "self motivation and initiative".

Just as criminals stake out likely victims, PCs Noyce and Forster kept watch on the lay by at Bay Bridges, at the foot of the Swindon road out of Marlborough, where there had been a number of high-value thefts from lorries.

The pair regularly cover night shifts together and it became a habit for them to check on lorries parking-up for the night in the lay by.

Their initiative paid off shortly before 1am on June 2 when they spotted that a lorry they had seen parked earlier had a second lorry parked close to its rear doors.

While PC Forster arrested two men acting suspiciously at the side of the target lorry, PC Noyce arrested a man in the back of the lorry.

The officers found the men were in the middle of transferring £90,000 of wine from Spain into their own lorry.

Throughout the drama the driver of the articulated lorry carrying the wine slept soundly in his cab.

He was surprised and shocked, the officers said, when they awoke him to tell him what had happened.

Ch Supt Wickham told the awards ceremony that the three men arrested by PC Noyce and PC Forster were from the West Midlands and it turned out that their vehicle had been used in similar thefts from lorries over a wide area.

The three crooks appeared in court and pleaded guilty to theft. Two were sent to prison and one received a community rehabilitation order.