Incidents in Offchurch, Stratford, Long Marston & Ettington

Incidents in Offchurch, Stratford, Long Marston & Ettington INC 174 of 4 April
Please be aware of the following incidents which have occurred at rural premises in South Warwickshire over recent days.

• During the night of 20 into 21 March offenders forced the padlock off a chicken shed at a home in Village Street, Offchurch and stole 200 Goldline point of lay pullets.
• During the night of 23 into 24 March offenders forced their way into an outbuilding at a farm premises in Halford Road, Stratford and stole a Kercher pressure washer. The offenders also forced the locks off a diesel tank at the farm and stole a large quantity of fuel.
• During the night of 27 into 28 March offenders kicked in the lower panels of two doors at an Antiques Business in Long Marston and then climbed through. Once inside, the offenders stole a large quantity of gold and sliver jewellery.

The offenders had their faces covered and wore camouflage tops.

• During the night of 3 into 4 April offenders are believed to have parked a vehicle in the gateway of a farm premises in Fosse Way, Ettington and then disabled an alarm to get into the premises. The offenders then forced open the bottom of a patio door and got into the hallway of the house. They were then disturbed by a dog and left the house via the front door.

Our colleagues in West Mercia Police have made us aware that they too are suffering an increase in diesel thefts, mainly from commercial storage tanks.
Insecure tack rooms have also been targetted by opportunist thieves who have stolen tack, rugs and equipment from tack rooms and from gateways.
One recent incident involved a farmer being telephoned by a stranger and told that his sheep were out on the road. the farmer went out to check and left his Landrover near to the field while he recovered his sheep. The Landrover was then stolen while it was left unattended. Please don't leave your keys in your vehicles when you are working nearby. The NFU report that in excess of 200 Landrovers and other 4x4 vehicles were stolen last year and most of these were never recovered as they were stripped down for parts and sold in bits.
Electric fence energiser units seem to be the current target of thieves. As they are portable and are easy to steal. Please avoid leaving them in sight if possible. Make attempts to hide them behind logs etc and please ensure that you mark your postcode on them with paint, nail varnish, Smartwater or other permanent marker. Please also pick them up and secure them away when they are not in use.
Thankyou.
SOUTHAM FARM WATCH
Southam Police Station
High Street
Southam
Tel : 01926 415000
Email : southamfarmwatch@warwickshire.pnn.police.uk