POLICE are appealing for witnesses after 30 sheep were stolen from the same field.

The sheep - including one ram - were stolen from the Middlemarsh area between Dorchester and Sherborne sometime overnight last Friday.

The stolen sheep are a mix of Suffolk crosses and Dorset ewes and the ram was a Texel ram.

The ewes were wearing ear tags with flock numbers UK340591, UK349650 and the Ram was from flock number UK328623.

A spokesman for the Dorset Police Rural Crime Team said they are keen to hear from anyone with information regarding this incident.

The investigating officers are asking residents if they were in the area during this time and if they saw anything suspicious.

Residents are also being asked if they noticed any livestock vehicles or vehicles with livestock trailers attached that seemed suspicious in any way.

If anyone has any information about the theft or the whereabouts of these sheep please contact Dorset Police on 101, at www.dorset.police.uk, via email 101@dorset.pnn.police.uk quoting occurrence number 55200002113.

If you wish to remain anonymous you can contact the Crimestoppers Rural Crime Reporting Line by calling 0800 783 0137 or visiting http://www.ruralcrimereportingline.uk/

This is not the first incident of sheep rustling in Dorset in recent years. Last spring 200 sheep were stolen from fields near Dorchester.

James Cossins, chairman of the Dorset National Farmer's Union, said at the time that Dorset was "a target" for sheep rustlers.

He said: "It's difficult to keep livestock completely secure, especially when they're out grazing. Farmers are doing what we can to make it difficult to get into fields.

"Fortunately in Dorset we have a good rural crime team who work hard on farmers' behalf and investigate these problems to hopefully stop them happening again."

Police are asking farmers and smallholders to remember the following advice:

  • Keep the gates to your livestock locked and make sure that the hinges are capped to prevent the gate being lifted off its hinges
  • Block up unused gateways with tree trunks and old machinery
  • Consider fitting wildlife or trial cameras to fields where livestock are present to detect vehicle or person movement
  • Fit gate alarms
  • Consider fitting early warning intervention alarms that will link to your phone
  • Consider using livestock tracing system’s.

If you would like more information on measures available to protect your livestock or a crime prevention visit to your farm or smallholding email ruralcrimeteam@dorset.pnn.police.uk