Staff at Sidmouth’s Donkey Sanctuary were ‘incredibly sad’ to discover one of its tractors was stolen at the weekend.

Police are investigating the theft of the John Deere 6220 Loader Tractor, registration number WA06 FVO, which was taken between 3.30pm on Saturday, November 25, and 9am the following morning.

The vehicle has a bucket on the front and a new scraper on the back.

Annie Brown, the charity’s interim director of rescue and rehoming said: “We’re incredibly sad that someone has chosen to target the Donkey Sanctuary – our charity provides vital care to rescued donkey and relies entirely on donations from members of the public.

“We will ensure that the welfare of our donkeys is not affected by this theft, but it does mean that our teams will be under a great deal of unexpected pressure to keep the farm running smoothly, especially at this time of the year when we’re using the tractor to transport the donkeys’ feed and bedding to them every day.”

Anybody that has information regarding the stolen tractor is urged to contact Devon and Cornwall Police on 101 quoting the crime number CR/102901/17.