Two dozen sheep stolen from North Yorkshire farmland in a month

A SECOND case of suspected sheep rustling in the space of a month in North Yorkshire has been reported to police.

By Ben Barnett

Published 2nd Oct 2015, 16:34 BST

Constable Ridler of North Yorkshire Police scanning tags on lambs at Newton Bank Farm, Gargrave, was part of specialist training to help tackle livestock thefts. Picture: Bruce Rollinson.

In the latest incident on Thursday, four Texel shearling tups were reported stolen from land at Egton near Whitby.

One of the offenders was caught on CCTV and wheel marks in the field indicate a pickup was used to remove the tups.

The suspect was described as a stocky male, aged between 20-30 with dark hair.

It follows the theft of 20 Texel cross sheep from a field near Far Westhouse, Ingleton sometime between September 11-14.

All 20 sheep had a red dot mark between the shoulder blades and were marked with the flock tag reference UK125254.

Earlier this month, North Yorkshire Police joined forces with the National Farmers’ Union for the first in a series of specialist training for officers in livestock theft.