Four arrests over £100,000 vintage tractor thefts

Four men have been arrested in connection with the theft of six vintage tractors worth more than £100,000.

Detectives and officers from Staffordshire Police swooped on three addresses in Walsall, Warwickshire and Leicestershire on 28 February.

One of the stolen Porsche tractors © Staffordshire Police

The operation follows the theft of four Massey Ferguson tractors, a John Deere and a distinctive red Porsche tractor from a farm in Yoxall, east Staffordshire, between 18 and 20 January. All six tractors have since been recovered by police.

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Following a search at a farm near Stapleton, in Leicestershire, two types of plant equipment, believed to have been stolen from Coven in 2017, and an Ifor Williams trailer believed to have been stolen from Nottinghamshire in 2013, were seized. 

Officers from Leicestershire Police also assisted their colleagues in Staffordshire to carry out the arrests. 

A 36-year-old man from Leicester was arrested on suspicion of burglary. A second man from Leicester, 32, was arrested on suspicion of handling stolen goods. 

A 22-year-old man from Walsall and a 44-year-old man from Warwickshire were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit burglary.

All four men have been released under investigation while police enquiries continue.