BURGLARS broke into a luxury hotel in the New Forest and stole bottles of wine worth £65,000.

Police are calling for anyone sold high-quality wine at bargain prices to come forward after the incident, which happened in the early hours of the morning at the weekend.

The thieves forced their way into the cellar of five-star Lime Wood Hotel in Lyndhurst.

They then left the premises with a large number of “high value” wines, officials from the hotel say.

It has been reported that among the haul were bottles of Romanée-Conti burgundy. Bottles of the wine sell for up to £10,000.

A spokesperson from Lime Wood said around 80 bottles were stolen during the incident. In total, the bottles hold a book value of some £65,000.

“There was a theft of high value wines from Lime Wood Hotel,” the spokesperson said.

“The appropriate authorities have been alerted and a police investigation is under way. Approximately 80 bottles have been taken with a book value of around £65,000.”

Officers from Hampshire police are asking members of the public to get in touch with them if they are offered bargain prices of high quality wine.

They also urge anyone who has information about the theft to contact them.

Officers based in the New Forest posted information about the incident on social media in a bid to encourage members of the public to share their appeal more widely.

The post reads: “More than £50,000-worth of wine has been stolen from the Lime Wood hotel in Lyndhurst.

“Thieves broke into the hotel’s cellar just after 3.30am on Sunday, November 10.

“If you are offered any high quality wine at a bargain price, or if you have any information about this theft, please call 101 and quote the crime number 44190405894.”

Lime Wood, which is dubbed the ‘ultimate countryside getaway’, offers suites from £395 a night.

The hotel is owned by billionaire Sir Jim Ratcliffe and a popular celebrity wedding hotspot.

Its cellar has won a series of prestigious awards, including the Tattinger wine list of the year in 2015 and Conde Nast Johansens awards in 2016 and 2017.

The venue describes its cellar as a “real treat for the wine buffs out there”.

In a post on its website, bosses say: “We are really proud of our extensive wine list that has been many years in the making.”

Sir Jim has owned the hotel since 2009.