Fairytale Farm for disabled children hit by large theft

Thousands of pounds-worth of power tools have been stolen from a farm dedicated to disabled children.

Fairytale Farm, near Chipping Norton, Oxfordshire, has been closed for the winter and the tools were being used by staff to get everything ready for its reopening on Saturday.

Owner Nick Laister said: "We're going to try and beg, steal and borrow to get ourselves open in time."

A man was captured on CCTV at the farm after 03:00 GMT on Wednesday.

The footage has been put on YouTube in the hope that anyone who recognises him will contact Thames Valley Police.

Fairytale Farm was designed around the needs of children with sensory, learning and physical disabilities. It was inspired by Mr Laister's daughter Olivia who has cerebral palsy.

The farm has been designed around the needs of children with disabilities

Among the stolen haul were angle grinders, drills and jigsaws, and other specialist equipment and attachments, collected since the farm was built in 2009.

Mr Laister called the theft a "big setback for us because we have to secure funding for everything we do".

He added: "The last thing we needed before opening was all our power tools being stolen.

"It's been a real headache for us so we're having to basically work through the night... we're having to do everything manually.

"We've got back ups for everything, but all our back ups have been stolen too... it's just really hard."

Nick Laister was inspired by his daughter Olivia to build the farm