A PEDIGREE sheep breeder is offering a reward for information leading to the recovery of a small tractor and a horse trailer stolen from Bere Ferrers last week.
Pam Olive from Tavistock, has a smallholding at Collytown, Bere Ferrers, where she keeps around 70 small pedigree sheep, and says the theft may spell the end for her business. The thefts occurred sometime in the early hours of last Thursday morning, (November 28).
The offenders appear to have gained entry to the land by breaking a padlock and then loading the tractor into the trailer and driving away.
Mrs Olive said she thought she would have to give up the business. ?It?s just about finished me off. I think I?m going to have to sleep up there in my car, to try and stop other equipment being taken,? she said.
Although her sheep were not high maintenance breeds, she said providing enough food and water for them was ?extremely hard work?, and it would be difficult to carry on following the theft.
Mrs Olive said the day before the theft she went down to the bottom of her land to feed the sheep, and found they had disappeared. A gate had been left open and the sheep had gone into adjoining land, and Mrs Olive believes the offenders may have visited the scene before to look over the property.
Mrs Olive said this was the first time she had suffered theft of farm machinery, but police in West Devon have recorded a number of thefts from farms in isolated rural areas.
PC Rick Hartigan, community officer for Bere Ferrers, said the crime highlighted the importance of taking security precautions to protect farm equipment in isolated areas.
?People need to be conscious about security and lock things away. They should also make sure they have the serial numbers of all their valuable equipment,? said PC Hartigan.
Anyone who has any information about the incident is asked to contact Bere Ferrers community officer PC Hartigan at Tavistock Police Station on 08705 777444.