Bramley Lambs Cruelly Killed by Rogue Driver

Published on: 18 Jan, 2024
Updated on: 23 Jan, 2024

Two of the lambs killed last night near Bramley. Photo Nick Hutley

By Martin Giles

Surrey Police are investigating an incident which took place overnight (17-18 January) resulting  in the death of 14 lambs at a farm to the south-west of Bramley.

A vehicle is believed to have driven onto the property, taking one gate off its hinges and “pushing through” another to run over the lambs.

Police officers attended the scene this morning to carry out further enquiries while other investigating officers were trying to identify and locate those responsible.

Speaking to The Dragon this afternoon (January 18), the farmer and owner, Mr Hutley, said: “It’s quite shocking.

“We had a group of 50 lambs that were going to the market and 14 of those were dead or dying this morning. We had to get somebody to come in and dispose of two that were still alive. So they’ve been alive all night but very badly injured.

“We have not had this kind of incident before but vandalism and farming go hand in hand, it seems to me nowadays.

“We had a trailer stolen about a month ago and also a pig. That is unusual. Other than that we’ve never had livestock stolen before or damaged like this. We get the occasional dog attack, but that’s generally domesticated dogs. We lose, each year, two or three lambs that way but we’ve never had anything of this magnitude.

“We’ve had the lambs from when they were born about April or May of last year, so we’ve been nurturing them.

“We are a low input farm which is supposed to be popular, so we don’t use fertiliser and we don’t use herbicides or insecticides.”

The loss of livestock also represents a financial loss but insurers have told Mr Hutley that the lambs were not covered because it was a “vehicle death”, which Mr Hutley said: “…seems quite bizarre really”.

Cllr Jane Austin

Bramley councillor Jane Austin (Con) said:  “It is inconceivable to me why someone would do this. As a community we are shocked and disgusted by this callous criminal behaviour.

“We want Surrey Police urgently on the case dealing with this and other recent local incidents of anti-social behaviour and vandalism.”

Waverley Neighbourhood Sergeant Phil Bayman said: “This incident is extremely unusual, and we appreciate that it will have caused considerable distress to the owner of the farm and within the wider community. We would like to reassure you that we are taking this seriously and doing everything we can to bring those responsible to justice.

“We are asking anyone with any information, including anyone who witnessed the incident, or with any other information, particularly anyone who may have seen a damaged vehicle in the area around the time of the offence, to come forward as soon as possible. We are also looking for any dashcam or CCTV footage which may help our investigation.”

Surrey Police is requesting that any information should be reported to them, quoting PR/0185 of 18/1 via:

• Webchat
• Online
• Calling on 101

Those not wishing to leave a name can call the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

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