More than £120,000 worth of machinery has been stolen from Purbeck.

The machinery was stolen from a works site off Morden Road near Wareham between 12pm on Saturday, January 14 and the morning of Monday, January 16.

A variety of machines and tools were stolen, including a Keto 150 HD harvester head, an Indeco IMH8 forestry mulcher, an Intermercato TG25 grab with CPR8 rotator, a TMK300 tree shear, a cone splitter, a hydraulic cone splitter, a fuel pump and hand tools.

Machinery theft has been on the rise over the past year as prices of new machinery continue to increase and have longer leading times, leading to supply issues. A knock on affect is that secondhand machinery has become even more popular and is hence more difficult to find - and it is currently more expensive as a result. 

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The police are appealing for witnesses and information on the theft.

Police community support investigator Chris Hardy, of Dorset Police, said: “We are carrying out a number of enquiries into this incident, which has resulted in the loss of more than £120,000-worth of equipment.

“I am appealing to anyone who witnessed any suspicious activity in the area between Saturday 14 January and Monday 16 January 2023 to please get in contact with us.

“I would also like to hear from anyone who comes across machinery similar to that described being offered for sale in unusual circumstances.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact Dorset Police dorset.police.uk/contact or by calling 101, quoting occurrence number 55230007748.

Alternatively, independent charity Crimestoppers can be contacted anonymously online at Crimestoppers-uk.org or by calling Freephone 0800 555 111.