A worried farmer is said to be devastated after becoming the victim of a modern day sheep rustling incident it has just been revealed.
The shocking theft – on Thursday February 28 – happened when the Colne Valley farmer briefly left his blue Land Rover and trailer of 14 sheep unattended to open gates onto his land.
Before he could get back to his vehicle, someone jumped in, and with the trailer of unfortunate sheep still attached, they took off.
Nothing is known about the suspect(s) other than they sped away from the scene at New Hey Road near Scammonden, close to the Jack O'Mitre pub, towards Oldham.
It is not clear if the target was the sheep or the vehicle but neither have yet been found and the police have not released any new information since the crime occurred more than two-weeks ago.
Honley based National Farmers Union spokesman, Tim Coy, told the Express & Chronicle the farmer involved had been in to see him and was "very cut up" about the incident but said he did not want to be named.
He said: "The farmer involved is very concerned as to the whereabouts of his sheep.
"We honestly expected the sheep to turn up but we're not expecting the Land Rover and trailer to turn up.
"I think the Land Rover was probably the target and the sheep were a bonus – they might have dumped them off. Pinching livestock is new on the agenda – these animals have ear tags, they might turn up."
"It's probably fair to say that theft in general has become a problem in the last four to six months – tractors, quads and wagons are all being stolen.
"We want people to be extra vigilant – farmers have always been a little bit more at risk because there's a lot of machinery about on farms which is more vulnerable."