As well as stealing a substantial number of tools from the Clifton Without and Rawcliffe Allotments Association, the thieves involved in this also stole tools from the Friends of Rawcliffe Meadows (FoRM), including a Stihl FS 250 scrub cutter serial number 162007853 and has stickers on relating to its purchase and maintenance by Harland of Green Hammerton.

It appears to have made little difference that the equipment was DotPeen’d by North Yorkshire Police in summer 2016 following the previous break-in to the FoRM shed with our name upon it. The Police crime number is 130.

The scrub cutter was an essential piece of management equipment for the care of the nationally important population of Tansy Beetles, along with general site maintenance.

The estimated cost of replacing the tools and shed fittings in material terms is £765 plus an awful lot of effort in re-fitting, insurance claim and buying replacements.