The owner of a Norfolk horse yard has described the people behind the theft of thousands of pounds worth of equipment as “the lowest of the low”.
Faye Davis, 38, from Great Dunham, near Swaffham, owns a small yard of horses on Station Road along with her husband.
The pair left the yard on the evening of August 13, but when they returned the next morning to feed and exercise the horses, they found the gate at the end of the yard had been left open and they had been broken into.
They found the door to the tack room had the lock cut through, and all the tack - worth between £7,000 and £8,000 - was gone.
“The people carrying out these thefts, and any theft, are in our opinion the lowest of the low and have no regard or compassion”, Mrs Davis said.
“It’s going to take a long time to get back to where we were, but we won’t be beaten by the cowards that think they can help themselves to hardworking people’s possessions.”
The items taken included four saddles, seven bridles, clippers, headcollars, breastplates and various pieces of leatherwork.
“In one night, they have left us completely crippled in terms of exercising and competing the horses”, the Mrs Davis said.
“The emotional cost is immeasurable. Some of the tack and one saddle, in particular, was of great sentimental value and is irreplaceable.”
She said after the initial shock they called the police, who attended the scene. But the shock has come back as they react to the break-in, she said.
“We have all been left in various states of shock, sadness, anger and disbelief.
“Our little boy who is four-years-old is particularly sad as it has left him unable to enjoy riding his special pony and in all the upheaval I think it upsets children more than you realise.”
Mrs Davis said they are carefully watching sites on Facebook and eBay.
She also believes there is a good chance that items may surface at upcoming Horse Fairs.
Norfolk police confirmed an unknown offender(s) forced entry into the stables on Station Road during the night between Thursday 13 August 2020, and Friday 14 August sometime between 9.30pm and 7:30am.
Anyone with information should contact PC Ryan Thorogood at Dereham Police Station on 101, quoting crime reference number 36/55988/20.
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