A FARMER has slammed a “ludicrous” lack of action from police after officers closed a criminal case without even visiting the scene or interviewing him as a victim.

Stephen March, of Vinesse Farm in Little Horkesley, contacted police earlier this month after crooks got into his field and slashed the covers protecting thousands of pounds’ worth of haybales.

The damage caused by allowing air into the covers could cost Mr March, 67, more than £6,000 if it is extensive enough.

Slashed – if exposed to air for long enough, the hay will deteriorate and be unusable, Stephen March saidSlashed – if exposed to air for long enough, the hay will deteriorate and be unusable, Stephen March said (Image: Stephen March)

Mr March initially feared Essex Police were reluctant to investigate the incident, but an officer was assigned to look into the case three days after the Gazette published an article in which Mr March said a lack of action could lead to further such incidents.

Essex Police have now contacted Mr March, 67, to say they will be taking no further action because they could not make further enquiries to identify who was involved.

The outcome has left him bemused and fearing there is nothing to deter people from striking his farm a second time.

He said: “We didn’t have high hopes they would ever be able to pin this on whoever did it, but the whole lack of interest is disappointing because they needed to act quickly if they were going to get a shred of evidence.”

Mr March said he gave police the registration plate of the car used to get into the field, but said investigators failed to make in-roads with the information.

He said: “I got a phone call last weekend to say they had looked on ANPR cameras and they located the car I gave them the number plate of in Stansted and Basildon – so what?"

Worried – Stephen March said Essex Police have failed to deter further offendingWorried – Stephen March said Essex Police have failed to deter further offending (Image: Daniel Rees, Newsquest)

He continued: “I dread going out in the morning thinking what the hell they are going to do now – what’s going to be alight or what’s going to be a wreck next?

“I just feel the whole thing is appalling – no-one came out with any swiftness to check the evidence there was [left behind].

“No-one put the heat on them – it just seems ludicrous.”

An Essex Police spokesman said: "We have spoken with Mr March and we understand his upset. We know how hard it can be to run a rural business in our county, which is of course classified as more than 70 per cent rural.

"We’ve looked extensively for evidence including forensic opportunities, CCTV footage, witness accounts or other potential leads but at this stage we haven’t been able to find enough information to help us positively identify a suspect.

"That means, for the moment, we must move onto cases in which we’re able to make progress but that doesn’t mean we won’t open this investigation straight away should further information come to light to positively identify the person who has done this and impacted significantly on Mr March.

"If there is anyone within our community who can help us, we would urge you to please get in touch.

"You can let us know by submitting a report on our website or by using our online Live Chat service which is available 24 hours-a-day, seven days-a-week. 

"It can be found at the bottom right of our homepage at www.essex.police.uk. 

"Visit www.essex.police.uk/digital101 to find out more about our website reporting services.

"Alternatively, you can call us on 101. Please cite incident 42/104195/24."

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