‘Callous’ thieves stole £1,000 designer hen coop from Northampton home leaving six birds for dead
THIEVES who stole a state-of-the-art hen house and left six pet hens for dead have been branded ‘callous’ by the animals’ devastated owner.
A gang of thieves are believed to have stolen an ‘Omlet’ hen house, worth £1,000, from a property in Daventry overnight last Thursday.
Speaking to the Chronicle & Echo yesterday, the hens’ owner Barry Lewis said he believed two of his pets may have been left behind and eaten by foxes.
He said he has found feathers in neighbouring fields suggesting at least one may have perished. However, he said he was unsure whether the remaining four were stolen, whether they were also eaten, or whether they may have escaped.
Mr Lewis said: “We have found a lot of feathers in one of the fields so we think at least one of them has escaped and been caught by a fox. We are obviously upset about it and you just wonder why people want to do it.
“It is just so callous. We know at least one them died but we don’t know what happened to the rest.
“They have damaged livestock and for what? It is just very upsetting and very annoying.”
Mr Lewis has kept hens for three years and says most of the stolen hens were around 18 months old. He last saw them after he let his dog out at around 1.20am on the day of the theft. By 7am they had gone.
He says the hen house was so heavy it would have taken more than one person to lift it and says it’s distinctive design would be obvious to anyone if it is offered for sale.
Mr Lewis added: “It is quite unusual and you don’t find it everywhere. They last a lifetime and I think if one comes up for sale it would be obvious.”
The theft happened from a smallholding on Whilton Locks, in Whilton, in Daventry.
PC Gareth Court said officers believed the thieves used a van or another vehicle to remove the hen house.
He said: “We believe more than one person could have been involved in stealing the hen house as it’s an extremely heavy item. There is also a strong possibility the offenders would have used a vehicle such as a low loader or van.”
Email to a friend
Print this page- BREAKING NEWS: Tributes paid to Niamh Curry as brave five-year-old loses battle against cancer
- BREAKING NEWS: Pensioner dies after collision at Northampton shopping centre
- Man tied to tree and beaten on Northampton Racecourse
- BREAKING NEWS: Woman’s body found after ‘suicide’ in Northampton hotel room
- BREAKING NEWS: Seven-year-old boy dies following house fire in Northamptonshire
- Northampton binmen at ‘breaking point’
- Staff strike at Northampton school over academy plans forces closure
- Saints’ stadium plans get support as long as traffic issues solved
- Eastern European pupils helping school standards across Northampton
- Exclusive: PM David Cameron says Northamptonshire Police Commissioner role is “a big job for a big local figure”
Looking for...
Featured advertisers
Jobs
Search for a job
Motors
Search for a car
Property
Search for a house
Weather for Northampton
Saturday 26 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 23 C
Wind Speed: 18 mph
Wind direction: East
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 11 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 15 mph
Wind direction: East
