Bradgate Park plea after rangers’ Land Rover is stolen
Thieves have stolen a custom-built, all-terrain Land Rover which helps the team of rangers at Bradgate Park keep visitors and animals safe.
The vehicle was taken from the country park at some point last night.
Rangers and Leicestershire Police officers are circulating a photograph of the vehicle on social media in the hope of making it ‘too hot to handle’.
Head ranger Matthew Smith said the Land Rover Defender was vital because it enables him and colleagues to get to hard-to-reach areas of the country park in emergencies.
Mr Smith said: “We had it made custom-built in 2015 and it’s a key part of everything we do here. It’s vital for running the park.
“So, being a vehicle down now puts us a great disadvantage.
“It will stand out like a sore thumb wherever it is and we would ask people to look out for it and let the police know if they see it anywhere.
We had one taken before and pictures were shared on Facebook and it was found abandoned, possibly because it had become too hot to handle.”
The Leicestershire Police rural policing team have also posted an appeal on Facebook. They said: “Someone will have seen this. Is it stashed locally? Did you see it pass you early this morning?
“Please keep a look out for this distinctive Land Rover. Call us straight away if you have any information.”
Contact Leicestershire Police on 101, citing incident 140 of Saturday, June 26.
