Stolen horses and suspicious sightings update

[Harleyhorse]

these vehicles were seen outside my stables, and my friend approached a white transit van with men taking pictures, which was parked outside her field.

Any horses stolen from this wont be at any horse sales, it is a STEAL TO ORDER gang. this is why they take pictures...

people see the picture, choose the horse etc

all we can do as horse owners is lock the fields or stables, maybe fit cctv and check our horses reguarly. just be ready to report anything suspicious, and also ignore the text messages. go by your own judgement!!

 

[michaelj]

=/

 

[justjazz]

YES THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPUL HORSE THEFTS IN THE UK !

Don't believe me ask leicestershire & northamptonshire police force! several have been taken from these areas, police have had tip offs for more multipul raids too! ASK THEM!

sorry to get up & personal but it's getting to me now! horses have been taken only 5-10 miles from me!

 

[Hedgewitch13]

Lol... well said! I think we need to ignore/stop feeding the trolls. They seem to be multiplying at an alarming rate on this thread..... Raises eyes to the skies and sighs.....

ETS only read this thread today as it was linked into another post.

 

[JM07]

[ QUOTE ]
YES THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPUL HORSE THEFTS IN THE UK !

Don't believe me ask leicestershire & northamptonshire police force! several have been taken from these areas, police have had tip offs for more multipul raids too! ASK THEM!

sorry to get up & personal but it's getting to me now! horses have been taken only 5-10 miles from me!

[/ QUOTE ]

Have checked with all you have suggested...

they assured me that NOTHING has been stolen...AT ALL....

 

[Faithkat]

Not surprising really - just how many horses could you get into a Landcruiser or Transit van anyway . . . . . . ??????

All these so-called suspicious sightings never seem to involve any kind of horse transport . . . . . and I'm not entirely sure what someone of "Eastern European" origin looks like either. Southampton's got the highest population of Polish in Britain but they tend to look pretty much like the rest of us.

 

[carys220]

On another website the 'rumour' was that the 'suspicious men' where asian and of mixed race....so what do you make of that? I think that should clear it up once and for all....?

 

[chunklovescooks]

Dear oh dear! xxhas02, you dont know that gypsys have "stolen" theese horses, for the moment until the police have solid proof, it is all conspiricy.

 

[Zebedee]

[ QUOTE ]
YES THERE HAVE BEEN MULTIPUL HORSE THEFTS IN THE UK !



[/ QUOTE ]

B*LL*X

(Sorry to get personal..........

)

 

[ForeverFern]

[ QUOTE ]
Not surprising really - just how many horses could you get into a Landcruiser or Transit van anyway . . . . . . ??????

All these so-called suspicious sightings never seem to involve any kind of horse transport . . . . . and I'm not entirely sure what someone of "Eastern European" origin looks like either. Southampton's got the highest population of Polish in Britain but they tend to look pretty much like the rest of us.

[/ QUOTE ]

A horse box has been seen with the matching Red Landcruiser outside my field 2 weeks ago. And before you accuse me of making this up i have an email sent to me from the police below.
--Forwarded Message Attachment--
Subject: Another Suspicious Vehicle
Date: Thu, 12 Jun 2008 15:35:15 +0100
From: mark.lassmans@lincs.pnn.police.uk
To:


Can I bring your attention to a serious issue that has arisen overnight in our area. We received a call from a resident of Sudbrooke last night letting us know of a suspicious vehicle seen parked up on West Drive, Sudbrooke just into the wooded area where the bridge is. That was at around 7.30pm last night.

The vehicle was towing a horsebox, and the two males from the vehicle were taking photos of horses in the adjacent field.

This was similar to an incident just north of Caistor yesterday morning, and mirrors other incidents that have been reported north of the county, as well as in South Yorks and Notts.

We believe that this vehicle. and others like it, are involved in the theft of horses to order. The photos that are taken of the horses are put into magazines by the offender offering the horse for sale. If the offender gets a call from someone who is interested, and they believe a sale will be made, they return to where horse is and steal it. The horse is then taken and shown to the prospective buyer who can see it is the exact same horse that was in the advert, and to some degree avoid suspicion.

No horses were stolen from Sudbrooke last night, but it is concerning that these people have been in our area.

The vehicle involved was a red Toyota Landcruiser, B16 RBB, and at the time it was seen last night it was towing a horsebox.

The name the vehicle is registered in is fictitious, and the occupants of the registered address have no knowledge of it. However, we have had some information that a criminal from the Lincolnshire area, who has connections to the travelling community, has access to it and may be using it for this purpose.

We need to locate this vehicle as soon as possible so we can find out who is using it, and for what purpose.

If you see the vehicle passing through the area please ring Lincolnshire Police on 01522 882222 and report the siting.

However if you see the vehicle stationary anywhere near horses then please ring 999.

Do not approach the vehicle or the males under any circumstances!!! Those that take part in this kind of activity have been known to use violence in the past to get away, so please stay well clear of it and call the police.

I would also be grateful if you could inform anyone you know who has a horse in our area about this vehicle in case they are not on this list. I know many are already aware, but your help in reaching those that aren't would be appreciated.

Many Thanks

Mark (PC Lassmans)

 

[Zebedee]

Could we have the police log number that relates to this incident please? Past experience leads me to think that without this trying to ring in what may be a related sighting could get complicated..........

 

[annegem]

we own a riding school and livery yard with over 60 horses,mainly cobs on the riding school...off went the feathers a couple of weeks before appleby...an hour a night barricading gates and then came the reports that all types were being stolen...chatted to local police who confirmed "sightings" so 2 weeks in shifts in the field in horseboxes,on the 16th at 10.15pm a red landcruiser entered the yard and swiftly drove off as liveries got out of horsebox..2 night later 1.30am ish the field was illuminated from the end of the lane my partner and i jumped in car and sped down the lane only to be faced with a red lancrusier..sadly we drive like a couple of numpties and they quicky scarpered either down the east lanc or the motorway..yes we have reported this to the police.

 

[fatpiggy]

Hi Anngem,

I'm guessing that your yard is pretty close to the M60? I had received the text from 2 different sources, and the very next day spotted a white horsebox parked in a layby where there are horses on the other side of the hedge, and noticed it was attached to a very large red 4x4. What caught my eye though, was the horsebox was really badly painted. It looked literally like someone had slapped some whitewash on with a big brush. I read the postings here and told a friend at my yard, particularly about the "real" owner of the white van and how he really was a photographer, and her comment was "bo****cks". She caught me last night and said that this man had been arrested in the middle of the night at or very near a large livery/school yard which is a few hundred yards from the M60. She had been told this by a very old friend who has a horse on that yard so I would take it as true and not a rumour. Have you heard anymore?

 

[albynstudios]

[ QUOTE ]
Hi Anngem,

I'm guessing that your yard is pretty close to the M60? I had received the text from 2 different sources, and the very next day spotted a white horsebox parked in a layby where there are horses on the other side of the hedge, and noticed it was attached to a very large red 4x4. What caught my eye though, was the horsebox was really badly painted. It looked literally like someone had slapped some whitewash on with a big brush. I read the postings here and told a friend at my yard, particularly about the "real" owner of the white van and how he really was a photographer, and her comment was "bo****cks". She caught me last night and said that this man had been arrested in the middle of the night at or very near a large livery/school yard which is a few hundred yards from the M60. She had been told this by a very old friend who has a horse on that yard so I would take it as true and not a rumour. Have you heard anymore?

[/ QUOTE ]
in reply to the person saying the owner of the white van being a real geniune photgrapher being bo***cks
i would like to let you know i am this person please feel free to contact derbyshire police who will confirm my story or see original posts on news from horse and hounds regarding my number plates being used i have references which i could provide if needs be
but dont worry i will accept a appology if your big enough to offer one

oh and as the original sighting was at the hope valley riding club and has been sorted i was invited this weekend and did attend their show and guess what i even took some photos

oh shock horror

 

[DE88IE]

it may well be the case that sightings & incidents have got out of hand, been elaborated on & may just have grown out of proportion like chinese whispers - but it saddens me that you mock these people - horses do get stolen - i know because mine has & it is devastating - 2 years on, we still miss him everyday - yes there is a proportion of people who straight away say it must be gypsies - there is also a proportion of people who say it just wouldnt be, because they wouldnt be interested in a gelding - i of course have no idea who stole him - if i had - then 2 years later i may have found him - but the people you mock for getting caught up in the hysteria are just scared for their own horses safety & surely even the most hardened people to this topic must surely understand that because horses do get stolen & it bloody hurts every day

 

[fatpiggy]

Well you know what? I hope your photography is better than your spelling, grammer or general typing. As a past secretary of a riding club, I can assure you that we only ever invited a professional photographer and anyone else chancing their arm was asked to leave. No wonder Hope Valley were suspicious. Sadly, not every club works this way, and I was once sent a proof of my horse following a show - clearly the show secretary had just handed over peoples' contact details. Professional tack thieves are known to follow horseboxes home from shows and anyone casually taking pictures of tacked up horses tied to the back of a box has a nice record of who has a Stubben saddle, or whatever.

 

[carys220]

Woah there! This guy isn't lying!! And I really don't think you should be being mean to him, I'm sure him and his family have been through hell over this!!
http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/article.php?aid=257705&cid=397

 

[CorvusCorax]

And, er, it's 'grammar', not 'grammer', if you want to be picky...

 

[fatpiggy]

Quite right - thank you!

 

[albynstudios]

as others have said myself and family have gone through hell over this and as for photographing horses i have doen this for years at shows in sheffield and for friends they were quite happy to testify this to police my wife rides herself and has had horses on loan and worked at stables etc for many years so it wasnt just a case of a riding club allowing anyone in to take photos and it was their vigillance which actually began the involvement of my vehicle
as for grammar well we cant all be good at everything i wonder how good you are with a camera

 

[luminoso]

well done you for sticking up for the gypsys, i also know a few travelling people ,and its just downright ignorance when so called snobs!!!!! OR NEW MONEY PEOPLE AS I CALL THEM THINK THEY ARE BETTER THAN OUR TRUE TRAVELLING GYPSY , WHY DO THE GYPSYS GET BLAMED FOR EVERYTHING its so frustrating,,,, people who blame our gypsys for all the wrong things being done should take a look at there own lives first, i bet they arent the perfect citizen either , i wish there were more travellers around at least you know where you stand with them and some of them are the best horse men i know <font color="green"> </font>

 

[xxxbettyboopxxx]

Sorry to put the cat amongst the pigeons so to speak, BUT, I had a meeting with the police last week about some other horse stuff and they CONFIRMED to me that the reg numbers being bandied about relate to 2 men who live at opp ends of the country to each other and that they have nothing to do with horses!
Also that when we drive on a roads our number plates are pinged on average every 3 miles or so and these guys plates were put into the database and they have been near to none of the areas that people saw them in! It is scaremongering and people getting paranoid!

 

[tourmaline]

Hi, couldn't agree more with you. Sorry to hear that they are once again in your area. People who live in rural/out of the way areas should be more vigilant. I spoke to a local police officer last week about strangers in my area being very shifty. They were supposedly lost! however, to get lost where I live you have to go all over the mountain (one road in and out). They were not genuine, looking around asked my son about the lorry and caravan, did we want to sell etc. We have now put up 24hr cctv with cameras everywhere. I also know several tavelling families, who I feel that would be the first to act should any of my kids ponies go missing. Where possible, people should, common sense prevailing, extend the hand of friendship to settled travellers (I know that sounds irregular). It is a great shame that vile individuals steal ponies they do not care about the animals or the devestated owners, a very hard deterrent should be in place and the law should take horse theft very seriously, no one thinks about the knock on effect. Anyway I'l stop rambling now, but those who live in rural areas make things more difficult for the scum who would steal from you.

 

[albynstudios]

as the genuine owner of the transit minibus which was originally mentioned reg number N253XAJ i would just like to point out my wife now has another horse on loan stabled in the sheffield area so if we are seen in horsey places please dont panic feel free to say hello

we are defiantely english not eastern european as originally said and not after stealing anything

 

[ischa]

you might want to stick this in the other post sights

 

[buttsmissybailey]

We have had sightings in cardiff aswell white van red landcruser plus the other car they are putting yellow arrows on the road so that they take the horses that they see

 

[Dionkelly]

Omg you just don't steal horses!! :O
not very nice