‘We feel unsafe’ says centre owner after £20,000 raid

TWO quad bikes and gardening tools were stolen from Checkendon Equestrian Centre.

Thieves broke into a shed and removed the vehicles along with chainsaws and other equipment.

The tuck shop at the centre in Lovegrove’s Lane was also broken into and the contents of an “honesty” box used to pay for items was emptied.

The total cost of the stolen items is about £20,000.

Jennifer Greenbury, who owns the centre with husband Toby, said the break-in on June 20 has made them feel vulnerable.

She said: “I feel less secure in my home, our staff are locking their doors at night, our whole community at the equestrian centre is far less open than it used to be. We are worried now about our security and have implemented more means to make our estate more secure.

“It is the inconvenience and replacement costs that are a problem and the fact that we have to spend a huge amount of money installing bollards, an alarm and CCTV to prevent a reoccurrence and enable the police to carry out a forensic investigation.” Thames Valley Police is investigating.

This break-in was the second in as many months after a carved wooden bench, one of four in the grounds, was removed, believed to be by teenagers. It had the inscription saying: “Unseen frogs belch in the damp grass. The strange perfumes of darkening trees”.

But this was recovered about two weeks later in nearby woodland along with a bird sculpture that had been ripped off its plinth at the same time the bench was stolen.

Mrs Greenbury said: “This has really upset us, our bird sculpture was created for us by a charity, Inside Out, which helps children from less privileged backgrounds, as a tribute to our gardener, who is terminally ill, so this really did hurt.”

The items were found by Edd Arlott, the head gardener at Checkendon Court who returned them.

Mrs Greenbury said: “I assume it was teenagers, but I want them to know how much it has affected us here, we have children that use the benches.

“Our wooden bird is now with carpenters who are trying to repair it. It’s just such a shame.”

Meanwhile, vandals broke equipment used by children using the forest school at Checkendon primary.

They broke into a trunk in which equipment is stored and destroyed china plant pots.

Headteacher Sarah Hillier said: “We rent a private piece of land specifically for our children to play and enjoy nature and someone has intentionally broken our equipment to pieces and made the area unsafe for our pupils.”

It took volunteers one and a half hours to clear up the damage.

Children from Oak Class at the school released a statement which reads: “That’s really disappointing. Can you please not do that again? I am really sad; Why did you do that? It’s not yours, it belongs to someone else.”