Men sentenced after thousands of pounds of agricultural machinery discovered
Two men who were found with 20 pieces of stolen farm machinery have been sentenced.
Harry Hollowell, aged 25 of Jellicoe Road in Yeovil, and 23-year-old Vincent Bruce, of Bearley Lane, Tintinhull, appeared at Bristol Crown Court last Friday (22/12) after pleading guilty to conspiracy to handle stolen goods.
This comes after officers discovered and seized 20 stolen machines at a farm in South Barrow in October 2020.
Hollowell and Bruce had been purchasing farm machinery stolen from farm burglaries in the Sedgemoor area of West Somerset throughout 2020.
They also bought and sold stolen plant machinery which had been taken from building sites around Cardiff.
This caused significant financial losses to many farmers, landowners and small businesses.
Hollowell was sentenced to three years and 2 months imprisonment and Bruce for one years and four months. Bruce had his sentence suspended for two years.
A third man, 43-year-old Piotr Szor from Reading, was also sentenced at the same time as Hollowell and Bruce after pleading guilty to conspiracy to handle stolen goods for an unrelated incident.
The court heard how in October 2020, a tractor and telehandler worth around £80,000 were stolen from a farm burglary in East Somerset.
Szor had organised for the machinery to be loaded onto a lorry bound for Poland.
However, officers intercepted the lorry, recovered the machinery, and arrested Szor for his involvement.
Szor was sentenced to one year imprisonment, suspended for two years.
Speaking following the sentence, Detective Superintendent James Raphael said: “The theft of plant and agricultural machinery and tools have a detrimental impact on the farming community who work tirelessly to provide for our communities."
Police and Crime Commissioner Mark Shelford said: “This case serves as a stern reminder of the scale of rural crime, which is why as Police and Crime Commissioner, combating rural crime is one of my top priorities.
“These criminal activities have financial, time, and emotional impacts on the farming community who work tirelessly to provide for our communities."