Disgust after tractor and tools stolen in raid on RSPCA animal centre

STAFF at the RSPCA Ashley Heath animal centre, near Ringwood, were left devastated after raiders forced their way into a garage and stole a tractor worth thousands of pounds.

The orange Kubota B1820 and attached mower was in the outbuilding attached to the centre in Horton Road, and also taken in the incident on Sunday night were a battery-powered golf buggy along with a complete stock of power tools and hand tools.

Although the golf buggy was later found abandoned on the verge of a nearby road, a post on the RSPCA Ashley Heath Facebook page said: “We are devastated that we had a break-in last night and all our maintenance tools have been stolen including this tractor and topper.”

Many Facebook users took to the comments section to express their disgust at what had happened, calling the offenders “heartless”, “cruel” and “disgraceful”.

One person posted: “What type of person does this to a charity? So sorry to hear this.”

Another wrote: “This is so disrespectful that people can do this, after all it's a charity. Mentality of some people really shocks me.

“Hope all is retrieved soon and culprits are caught and dealt with in the manner they deserve. This disgusts me.”

A Dorset Police spokesperson said enquiries into the raid were ongoing. People are asked to come forward if they may have witnessed any suspicious activity around the time the incident took place.

Anyone with information should contact the officers on 101, quoting crime reference number 55190173726, or call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.