Aston Abbotts family devastated after burglars steal trailer and quad bikes from farm

Owner of Abbotts View Farm, Joanne Dell, told the LBO that the family woke up this morning to discover that two quad bikes and a horse trailer had been stolen, as well as power tools, a till, and diesel.

The burglary happened at around 1.30am, and the offenders drove up their neighbours’ drive and then used wire cutters to access the farm.

Joanne claimed: “I think whoever did this has obviously been before. They tried to avoid our CCTV cameras and drove up our neighbour’s driveway. They broke the fence into our field, and then they went behind the barn so they wouldn’t be seen.

“This let two alpacas out but luckily they went over to our females, so they didn’t leave the farm.

“There’s tyre marks everywhere and the field was very muddy. They would have had to use at least a 4x4 to pull the horse trailer away.

“We would have heard them but the wind was so noisy whistling through our house last night!”

The trailer was towed away from one of the fields, before two barns were broken into.

One barn contained the quad bikes and power tools, while the other houses the farm’s cafe, from which burglars stole a till.

Jo added: “They also cut the bolt to the storage tank and helped themselves to the diesel.”

It is believed that the offenders loaded the quad bikes into the trailer and then drove off.

The family - mum Joanne, dad James, daughter Amy, and Amy’s partner, Curtis Anthony, have several businesses at the site, including a cattery, livery and alpaca farm.

Joanne said: “My daughter was relieved that they didn’t take her horses!

“We work really hard and this will make life so much more difficult - we need the bikes to get around the farm.

“Everything we do here is about experience and we have worked really hard. We’ve put this all over social media and people have been commenting: ‘It’s just not fair’, and that’s how we feel.

“We bought the land seven years ago and set up an eco farm.

“I had had cancer and this was a new lifestyle change - something positive for the family.

“People say we don’t deserve this and that’s how we feel - but the people who did this don’t care about that.”

The stolen trailer is a blue Ifor 505 Williams trailer.

The first quad bike is one green Yamaha, which has a broken side that was re-bolted. There is an orange paw print on the back (if removed it will leave a mark) and a wooden box on the front.

The second quad bike is a Red Honda. It has a wooden box fitted to the front and heated handle bars added.

If you know any information, please contact Jo Dell on: 07989063595.

The LBO has contacted Thames Valley Police for a statement.