Therapy farm owner 'heartbroken' at animal theft

The owner of an animal therapy farm said she was "heartbroken" after the theft of some her animals.

Julia Stewart said eight sheep and four turkeys were taken from Farmyard Friends CIC near Messingham, North Lincolnshire, between Sunday 5 April and Monday 6 April.

In a social media post, Stewart said she was "heartbroken" and the thought of her animals being hurt was "making me feel physically sick".

Humberside Police said its Rural Task Force was investigating and appealed for anyone with information to get in touch.

Stewart has been developing the farm for two years and has various animals including pigs, horses and donkeys.

She told BBC Radio Humberside: "We arrived to find some of our animals had been taken. They've all got names and their own characters.

"They're like dogs really. They're not just sheep. They're so friendly and trusting and wouldn't think a human would hurt them.

"They have no fear of anybody and that's my worry, what's happened and what they're doing to them. I just can't get my head around that at all."

Humberside Police said: "It is reported a number of sheep and turkeys were stolen, and enquiries remain ongoing to determine the circumstances around the report and identify those involved.

"We would ask anyone with information, including CCTV footage around the dates and times the offence is believed to have occurred, to please contact us."

The theft of the animals comes two weeks after storms damaged some of the animal shelters at the farm.

Stewart said: "We had storms wipe out some of our shelters with one ending up on the road.

"We were trying to rebuild everything and now this. It's just hit us really massively."

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