Hadleigh Farm Estate: Piglets 'crushed' to death during break-in

Hadleigh Farm Estate opens to the public in spring

Piglets were crushed to death by their mother after she was spooked by intruders, a charity-run farm said.

The Hadleigh Farm Estate, in Essex, was targeted twice in December with up to £40,000 worth of equipment stolen.

Ciaran Egan, director of the estate, said staff were "shocked and upset" to find several piglets had died during one of the break-ins.

An Essex Police spokeswoman said the force was investigating the incidents on 4 and 17 December 2023.

'Distressing situation'

The piglets had been sleeping in a barn when the intruders broke-in on one occasion, Mr Egan said.

"The stress of the break-in led to their mother crushing some of them, a distressing situation for the animals and our team at Hadleigh," he added.

"We have since repaired several fences, gates and doors and have had to upgrade our site security installing lighting and CCTV."

The Rare Breeds Centre, which is run by the Salvation Army and where the animals were based, was closed to the public for winter at the time and was due to reopen in the spring.

• No open and shut case as gate thief hunted by police

A police spokeswoman said two barns were broken into on the evening of 4 December and farm equipment, including a woodchipper, were stolen.

The site was then targeted 13 days later and another two woodchippers, valued at between £30,000 and £40,000, were taken.

She added that suspects rammed a gate and drove off towards Castle Lane.

The force appealed for anyone with information to get in touch.