£70,000 worth of solar panels and equipment stolen from Lincolnshire chicken farm

Solar panels and two inverters worth an estimated £70,000 have been stolen from a poultry farm near Boston.
By Gemma Gadd
Published 24th Nov 2021, 16:48 BST
220 solar panels have been stolen from the poultry farm at Stickford. Photo: Tom Craven220 solar panels have been stolen from the poultry farm at Stickford. Photo: Tom Craven
220 solar panels have been stolen from the poultry farm at Stickford. Photo: Tom Craven

Thieves allegedly used an angle grinder to gain access to poultry farm A R Craven Farms Ltd in Midville Lane, Stickford.

Speaking to the Standard, Tom Craven from the family-owned farm said: “We noticed on Friday morning (November 19) that the solar panels and inverters had been stolen.

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“A few swear words came out when I noticed what had happened.

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The solar panels provided power to a chicken and egg unit housing 64,000 birds.The solar panels provided power to a chicken and egg unit housing 64,000 birds.
The solar panels provided power to a chicken and egg unit housing 64,000 birds.

“The gates were broken into using an angle grinder.

“It must have been a group of people involved and they obviously new what they were doing.”

Tom said the solar panels were used to power a free range egg chicken unit housing 64,000 birds.

“It will cost £70,000 to replace it all,” he said.

Two of these inverters were also taken.Two of these inverters were also taken.
Two of these inverters were also taken.

“It’s going to be a huge additional expense for us as we are now having to use the mains electricity for the chickens, not the solar panels which were much more cost-effective.

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“It’s also the inconvenience of it as it now means we have to get them replaced and look at more security measures.”

Lincolnshire Police commented: “We are appealing for information after the theft of 220 solar panels and two high value inverters.

“If you have any information to assist our enquiry, or you saw any suspicious activity in the area, please get in touch.”

You can contact the police by calling 101 quoting incident 187 of November 19, or emailing [email protected] quoting 187 of November 19 in the subject line.

If you wish to remain anonymous, you can report via the independent charity CrimeStoppers on 0800 555 111.