It’s not every day that an enforcement agency is asked to seize gold bullion, but that’s what happened to Sherforce, which had to collect four gold bars from a bank vault as part of a High Court settlement.

The bars (pictured) were taken away to be sold and melted down, raising more than £40,000 on the gold market.

Sherforce Manager Alan Smith explained: “It was an exciting job for us to do. One of our enforcement officers went to the bank with a security guard and on producing the High Court writ, the gold was released into our custody. It was then taken away by the security company to a gold dealer.”

Sherforce, which is part of Shergroup – the UK’s largest High Court enforcement agency – is often called on to handle unusual requests and prides itself on being able to move anything for sale at auction.

Chief Executive Claire Sandbrook said: “In the past, we have been asked to seize racing cars, a train engine and even a canal boat! More recently, we have been involved in the recovery of an international debt amounting to over £1.4 billion.”

Claire added that many bailiffs shy away from removing goods for sale despite the fact they have an order of the Court. She said: “Judgment Creditors are entitled to look to the Court for the efficient enforcement of their judgment ? and we ensure that if goods are worth removing for sale, we move them!”

The company which has offices in Colchester, London, Leeds, and Delhi, is the largest High Court enforcement agency in the UK. It is the only enforcement firm in the top 200 law firms, and is the sixth oldest law firm in the UK, dating back to 1780.