Plea after 'critical' farm sanctuary vehicle taken

Animal welfare assistant at the sanctuary Steph Spiers said it was "just devastated"

A vehicle described as a "critical piece of farm kit", allowing 600 animals at a sanctuary to receive daily care, has been stolen.

The Farm Animal Sanctuary in Middle Littleton near Evesham said animals were at risk following the theft of its Polaris ATV from the site last weekend.

It was used to transport feed, bedding and veterinary and fencing repair materials - "just about anything that needs moving about the farm, including, occasionally, a sick animal".

An appeal to raise funds to buy a new vehicle has been launched.

Without the ATV, setting up for "vital fundraising activities" would be "almost impossible", the farm sanctuary said.

The theft had "a devastating effect on the small, hard-working team" and the charity did not have a back-up vehicle.

In a statement, the sanctuary said it was "still winter, and the fields are wet and muddy and all the animals need to be inspected daily".

"This is now a much more difficult and time-consuming exercise for the staff."

The team "finds it difficult to understand why someone would do something to cause so much difficulty for them", it added.

A total of 600 animals are at the sanctuary in Worcestershire

Steph Spiers, an animal welfare assistant at the sanctuary, said they were "just devastated really".

"We're kind of a huge part of this community and it's just not what we expect to find.

"We don't have any other vehicle that can get across all of the fields, regardless of the weather conditions and the ground conditions, and that vehicle was perfect for any job.

"Of course if we've got a sick animal, we now have nothing to transport them in, which is awful."