Thieves broke into the Volunteer Training Session at Rutland Water on Sunday 27th October. The break in left Leicestershire and Rutland Wildlife Trust with over £40,000 in damage and a great loss of resources.

They were attempting to steal specialist machinery and equipment that is used by LRWT to manage the nature reserve. The machinery they intended to steal was loaded onto a lorry. However, on attempting to flee, the heavy lorry got stuck deep in mud which the thieves were unable to move it from.

The thieves then set fire to the lorry in order to make it harder for them to be traced, causing significant damage to the wildlife meadow and surrounding area.

The damaged does will put back vital research and conservation work at the site. (Photo: LRWT)

Both staff and volunteers are devastated by the break-in, with one volunteer saying: "The damage caused to the nature reserve and the loss of some very recently acquired equipment has put our work back for months – vital work for the protection and enhancement of wildlife. I am deeply saddened by this."

Police are currently hard at work to trace the vehicle using CCTV in order to identify those responsible. Authorities are urging anyone with information relevant to the investigation to contact the police.

LRWT is a local charity focussed on conservation aiming to protect and enhance wildlife in Rutland (Photo: Dave Needham)

Head of Reserves Joe Davis said: "This incident is a major setback to nature recovery efforts within our two counties. The money raised during our Reserves Appeal last year helped purchase some of the equipment, making its loss particularly devastating.

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"We now face a huge clean-up bill, loss of essential equipment and the postponement of many planned works."