Horse trailer stolen from Chipping Norton farm in broad daylight - one in ten advertised online 'are stolen'

The trailer, a silver 2019 Ifor Williams 506 was stolen last Tuesday morning. Owner Carolyn Hayles said she tracked it down but it had been sold for £3500 an hour before she asked to view it.

"We have full CCTV coverage of them towing the trailer away in a white van. You can even hear them speaking,” said Mrs Hayles. “Whoever bought it beware, as you may have just parted with £3500 and have nothing to show for it.

"I urge people to check trailers are not stolen with The Equipment Register before purchasing, even if the ad says they have been checked."

Mrs Hayles also asked for any information people may have in a bid to get her trailer returned. She uses the trailer for all sorts of equestrian activity.

"I use it for everything, dressage, show jumping, cross-country schooling, lessons and moving the horses from home to a field I rent 20 minutes away. Now I’m stuck. Half term was going to be fun for my daughter after two weeks of GCSE mock exams. Now we have no trailer.”

The theft came as The Equipment Register (TER) – Europe’s largest database - warned more than one in 10 horseboxes for sale on online marketplaces are stolen property.

“Online marketplaces are an attractive platform for the trade in pre-owned horseboxes. Owners of horseboxes are urged to register theirs before it is stolen to maximise the chances of its recovery post theft.

Analysis conducted by TER reports 11% of horseboxes for sale on online marketplaces were either registered as stolen or had their identity plates tampered with. The TER database includes 1.85 million items, of which 850,000 are trailers, including 250,000 horseboxes.

TER checked 650 horseboxes that were being offered for sale on online marketplaces, including Facebook Marketplace, eBay and Gumtree over a four-week period.

Its analysis uncovered 71 trailers that had been registered as stolen or where the trade was red flagged as ‘suspect’. Reasons for highlighting a trade as being irregular include a missing or tampered serial plates or a seller who will not provide the serial number or other documentation with proof of ownership, when requested.

TER’s findings support data from the NFU Mutual Rural Crime Report which found the cost of rural crime rose increased by 4.3% year-on-year in 2023, reaching a total estimate of £52.8 million.

Online marketplaces are a convenient and efficient platform for buying and selling a wide range of goods, including horseboxes. However, this convenience also makes them an attractive avenue for the trade of stolen goods. The anonymity offered by these platforms allows criminals to list stolen horseboxes with minimal risk of detection. Sellers can create fake profiles, use untraceable contact information and quickly delete listings once a sale is made, making it difficult for authorities to track down the perpetrators.

Treve Jenkyn, at TER, said: “Thieves are using ever more sophisticated technologies including drones and trackers to identify trailers to steal, even when stored securely on a farm. As our analysis shows, once items have been stolen criminals often turn to online trading sites such as Facebook Marketplace and eBay to sell them to unsuspecting buyers.”