50 hay bales destroyed at farm by knife vandal
A VANDAL destroyed more than 50 hay bales on a farm in an alleged ‘premeditated’ incident.
It was discovered 54 haylage bales were damaged at the farm at Guardbank, Acre Valley Road, in Torrance, on Friday night.
The unknown individual is thought to have used a large knife to cut open every bale, exposing them to air and rendering them useless.
The cost of the damage is estimated to be around £2000.
Andy McLean, who keeps a number of horses in the nearby stables, found the destroyed bales on Saturday morning. He said: “It is completely out the blue.
“We went out at 8am and found that the bales were all on their sides, sliced open with a deep cut.
“The internal netting had also been cut, making them difficult to move.
“It is worrying that someone was at the farm with a large knife in the middle of the night.
“They would have had to know that open- ing the hay would destroy it, so I believe it was premeditated.
“It was our supply for the year and now it’s all destroyed.
“I am of the opinion that only someone with an awareness of haylage and horses possibly would carry out such a malicious act.”
The stables are the base of Andy’s son, Scottish under-18s event rider Lewis McLean.
The family have been left shaken by the incident and have been forced to install CCTV cameras and extra lighting on the land to prevent vandalism.
Andy added: “The incident has resulted in a show of support from the horse community and local farmers with horse owners offering to buy bales at the time to prevent them from being totally wasted.”
Haylage bales keep for 18 months when wrapped but once opened must be used to prevent them from rotting.
A Police spokeswoman said: “We were called out to the farm on Saturday morning.
“Inquiries are ongoing.” further