The renowned rock and roll band Showaddywaddy is appealing for the return of a case of merchandise after it fell from a van following a show at the Altrincham Garrick.

The band, which is soon to celebrate its 50th anniversary, rocked the theatre on Barrington Road on Friday before setting off for the Isle of Wight for its show on Sunday.

A roadie loaded a number of items onto a van, including amps and drums, as well as a case of merchandise containing dozens of hoodies and t-shirts.

But the door slid open and left a trail of these items all over the area's roads.

The roadie soon realised and he retraced his route, collecting the amps and the drums and retrieving another case from the theatre as it was handed in.

But the case of merchandise is still missing, with drummer Romeo Challenger's wife, Dawn Challenger, saying she suspects someone took it. There is an appeal for its return with a reward of £100.

Dawn, whose husband Romeo is the band's only original member, said: "Obviously, someone said 'I'll have them'. But I'm not sure who they're going to sell Showaddywaddy hoodies and t-shirts to.

"We'd be happy to get it back and hopefully they'd be happy with the £100."

The case of merchandise is a black, 100-litre suitcase with 'Showaddywaddy Merchandise' in gold letters, while the hoodies and t-shirts are all black with the band's logo.

Dawn said the situation was reminiscent of an episode of Only Fools And Horses, when the Trotters try to offload a set of the band's LPs alongside an artificial leg and a tyre for a Triumph Herald. But she advised any budding Del Boys and Rodneys to do the right thing and return the hoodies and t-shirts instead.

She said: "It's simple to say they found them. If they give their name and address, we can contact them.

"They don't have to admit they ran off with them."

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact The Messenger on jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk.

This article was written by Jack Tooth. Jack is the reporter for The Messenger and covers anything and everything from within the Metropolitan Borough of Trafford.

To contact him, email jack.tooth@newsquest.co.uk or follow @JTRTooth on Twitter.