Farmer left devastated by theft of beloved bikes in night-time raid
A farmer near Ludlow has been left devastated after his farm was raided by thieves in the dead of night.
John Jennings awoke on Thursday, November 9, to find his farm in Nash, near Ludlow, had fallen victim to a burglary.
Among the stash of tools and around a thousand litres of diesel, the offenders took off with two of John's prized possessions - a pair of Kawasaki motorbikes.
John said he believes the theft occurred between around 2am and 5am on Thursday.
"They've come and cut the locks off the gate and smashed the locks of one barn," he said.
"It looks like they've had a van with an IBC tank [a container for holding liquid] because they've pulled the quad bike into the open, taken off the seat, disconnected a battery, connected it to the fuel pump and completely drained the fuel tank.
"They've dragged my two motorbikes, which were all chained up, loaded them into the van and taken off into the night."
John couldn't begin to estimate the cost of the damage caused by the theft.
"The diesel tank is at least a thousand litres," John said, "The bikes are worth about £2,500 and there's a mountain bike that is about a grand.
"They've had chainsaws and all sorts - but you don't know what else they've taken. You might need something in a year and go to grab it and realise it's gone."
The incident was the second time John's farm was targeted, following a similar incident a couple of years ago when tools were taken.
"It's gutting," he said, "I dislocated my shoulder a couple of weeks ago and all I was thinking about was getting back on the bikes."
John is hoping people will get in touch with police to help track down his beloved bikes, two Kawasaki KX100s - a 94 and a 96.
Police confirmed enquiries are ongoing after the incident.
A spokesperson said: "On Thursday, October 9, we received a report of a burglary at a farm in Whatmore, Shropshire. A shed was broken in to and two motorbikes were stolen, along with some tools. Enquiries are ongoing."