Surrey police witness appeal after sheep mown down in field

Surrey Police has launched an appeal for witnesses following an incident on a farm near Guildford, where 12 lambs were found dead having been run over in their field.

The incident took place overnight between 17-18 January, and was discovered when farmer Nick Hutley, based in Bramley, checked his livestock on Thursday morning.

A total of 12 lambs were found dead, with a further two put down due to their injuries.

See also: Farmers paying cost of fly-tipping, as prosecution rates drop

Surrey Police, which is leading the investigation, said a vehicle is believed to have been driven into the property, damaging gates, before running over the lambs.

Mr Hutley told BBC Radio Surrey that those responsible were “mindless”, and “simply crazy”, and that the ongoing battle with rural crime is becoming  increasingly dangerous, particularly “if people feel that they can joyride like that and kill livestock”.

Waverley neighbourhood sergeant Phil Bayman said: “This incident is extremely unusual, and we appreciate that it will have caused considerable distress to the owner of the farm and within the wider community.

“We would like to reassure you that we are taking this seriously and doing everything we can to bring those responsible to justice.”

Sgt Bayman added: “We are asking anyone who witnessed the incident, or with any other information, particularly anyone who may have seen a damaged vehicle in the area around the time of the offence, to come forward as soon as possible.

“We are also looking for any dashcam or CCTV footage which may help our investigation.”

Any information should be reported by calling 101 and quoting PR/0185 of 18/1.