Cash and chickens plucked from Newbury Show

A cash point was broken into and some £4,500 in coins stolen and £700 was taken from the cab of a lorry, together with the prize winning poultry. Newbury & District Agricultural Society’s Interim General Manager, Simon Frere-Cook said it was likely that the cash thefts were connected, whereas the poultry thefts were the target of specialists.
He said: “We maintain what we regard as a good level of showground security which includes dog patrols but it is a large site and very difficult to keep totally secure.
“Both we and our security advisors are working closely with the police in their investigations and would urge anyone who has any information that may help to come forward.”
The owners of the three show cockerels stolen overnight on Saturday have said they are “devastated” at the theft. They had won prizes for 11 out of the 12 birds that were entered into the show's competitions.
Utopia Adaway on behalf of Annette Adaway said: “On Sunday we had a call from a friend to say 3 of our chickens had gone missing. Cages had been broken open and our birds had been taken.
“It turns out someone got into the tent at night and stole the 3 game bird cockerels. We are desperate to get these birds back. They were rescued a year ago and brought back to good health over the past 12 months so they have a lot of meaning to my mum.
“This has caused much upset to my family.”
Simon Free-Cook said: “The theft of the birds is obviously particularly distressing and we have expressed our concern to the owner. We are aware of the potential for specialist thefts of this type and our stewards are alert to that right through the show as well as overnight when some of them are sleeping nearby.”