I was in my local TV dealer in Sussex last weekend, buying an HTMI cable, and the conversation got round to the subject of poultry (as it does). It turned out his daughter had had three of her prized Light Sussex bantams nicked the night before from their coop at the back of the shop. An old friend of mine, Pete, then came in and recounted that he too had been the victim of a raid, losing cosiderably more of his small flock a few weeks prviously.

The theme has continued in the office, with two stories involving theft of poultry coming in today - one from Scotland and one from Cambridgeshire - with both farmers losing over £20,000 of stock.

What's it like in your neck of the woods? Are these just isolated instances, or is chicken rustling an increasing problem?