A quick-thinking Oxfordshire horse owner has stressed the value of putting GPS trackers on equestrian equipment after a police chase that brought her stolen trailer home in a matter of hours.
When Gemma Devonport visited the yard where she keeps her 16.1hh Irish coloured, Jethro, on Thursday 30 October she realised her £2,000 green Ifor Williams 505 trailer had gone missing.
This was the second trailer theft from the yard in Eynsham in a week. Just days before her cousin’s Bateson trailer had been taken and so Gemma had a hitch lock and a two wheel locks on the box. However, she said the thieves had been able to slice through them “like butter”.
“I just had a feeling that it was going to go as there had been a spate of thefts over that week, not just my cousin’s box but also quad bikes and other machinery,” said Gemma, “so when I went down to feed Jethro and could see it was gone I got onto my husband Carl straight away.”
Tracking device
Carl had placed an Apple AirTag that could be tracked from his phone inside the box, so he was able to see that the trailer was heading down the M1.
The Devonports called Thames Valley Police, who gave them a crime number and said they would investigate. But then the pair saw that the trailer was now in Leicestershire, so also rang that force.
“Leicestershire were really proactive,” said Gemma. “The police officer gave me his phone number and asked me to keep tabs on where the box was.
“I was able to tell him that they had pulled into a service station. They were probably rubbing their hands together thinking ‘we’ve got this trailer, let’s go and have breakfast’.
“I was able to describe exactly where on the car park the trailer was and the police apprehended the thieves just a couple of hours after it was stolen. I got my box back the day after.
“This was all because it had an AirTag on board – there was no way we’d have got it back otherwise. These AirTags are marvellous.
“We had a sticker on the front of the box stating that the box is tagged and that if it is stolen we can trace it and they obviously did not take any notice of that at all.
“I want people to know how an easy and relatively cheap thing like this can be the difference between you getting your property back and not. If the police know where something is they are much more likely to be able to get it back for you.”
Police statement
A Leicestershire Police spokesperson said: “Shortly after 7.45am on Thursday 30 October, police received a call concerning a stolen horse trailer box in the Leicestershire force area.
“The box, which had been stolen from the Oxfordshire area, had been fitted with a tracking device which showed the trailer was stationary at a service station close to junction 23a of the M1 motorway.
“Officers attended the location and the trailer was recovered. A 42-year-old man and a 16-year-old boy were arrested on suspicion of theft. The investigation is being dealt with by Thames Valley Police.”
Main image: stock image shows a trailer similar to the one that was stolen. © Shutterstock. Inset image © Gemma Devonport
