Livestock theft warning in Glos
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• A Gloucestershire haulier is warning livestock operators that a gang of thieves is targeting markets in the South-West after one of his trucks was stolen. He claims that he got no help from the police.
Graham Bowen, who runs GT Bowen Haulage of Coleford, phoned the local police as soon as he found his ageing TK Bedford had been stolen from Ross-an-Wye market last week—complete with three sheepdogs.
Despite passing on several sightings of the lorry within minutes, Bowen claims it quickly became dear that the police were not acting on the information. Bowen says another truck was taken from Abergavenny market just days earlier. His Bedford has an .£8,000 aluminium livestock body, but he says the three sheepdogs are more valuable to him.
When he realised that the police were not following up the tip-offs, he and his daughter braved the torrential rain to search the back roads between Newport and Cardiff and spotted two of the dogs. "It was a million-to-one chance," says Bowen. But his favourite sheepdog, a seven-year-old bitch called Storm, was nowhere to be seen.
When Bowen contacted Newport police they said the theft was outside their area and referred him to Rumney police. After a considerable delay, police finally visited the spot, but found nothing. Since then Bowen has travelled hundreds of miles following tip-offs, making numerous phone calls and even offering a 2500 reward for Storm's return. "What is clear is that if anything is stolen, nobody apart from ourselves is going to search for it," he says. 0 The Bedford's registration number is NLG 402P; anyone with information should contact Bowen on 01594 860228_