Nottinghamshire Police cracking down on thefts of horse boxes in Newark and Sherwood

Nottinghamshire Police is taking extra steps to stop thefts of horse box trailers.

The force has introduced a simple but effective initiative to help stop thieves in their tracks.

Trailer owners across the county have been supplied with stickers designed to help highlight when a theft might be taking place.

The highly visible stickers can be placed on the side of trailers and say: ‘police – stop if seen moving between 10pm and 5am’.

As legitimate users of the boxes typically only use the trailers to transport horses and livestock during the day, seeing them being moved at night can be deemed suspicious.

The tamper-proof stickers are also extremely hard for offenders to remove quickly during a theft, so offer a handy way of alerting officers to criminal activity.

Chief Inspector Heather Maelor, Nottinghamshire Police’s rural crime lead, said: “The force has received several reports of these kind of thefts taking place, due to supply issues making these items very sought after.

“This has been recognised as an issue across the region, so our officers have been making extra efforts to combat this theft trend and deter criminals.

“As part of this, we’ve introduced the stickers, which can then be placed on horse boxes and are difficult for offenders to take off quickly.