Thieves hunted after police recover high-value machines

The mini-digger had been concealed near to woodland on Netherwood Road, and police were contacted because of the suspicions of the person who spotted it.

South Yorkshire Police were able to recover it and return it to the firm which owns it.

During that process, they cleared an excavator and roller had also been stolen on the same night, with a combined value into six figures.

Officers worked with Mtrack Automatrics, a tracking company, and were able to home in on two further locations to find both, again hidden in woodland.

The vehicles were both returned to the company and officers enquiries to find those responsible are on-going.

Roads Policing Insp Kieran Frain said: “We are stronger with our communities’ help and I’d like to thank the member of the public who called us to inform us of the machinery.

“If something doesn't feel right, it often isn’t and we will act on reports of suspicious activity.

“Organised criminals often ‘hide’ equipment to see if the trackers are working, before selling it, or even shipping it abroad to fund their criminality.

“Although the cost of the machinery is high, the impact of that theft on businesses and those in our rural communities is far greater.

“Farmers and companies work hard, and their livelihoods should not be affected by those feeding off criminality.

“Anyone with information that can assist us in finding those responsible is asked to report it to us.”

Information can be reported via 101 quoting incident 267 of June 15.