Farmer finds his stolen sheep… In the field he left them

An Aberdeenshire farmer has been left feeling sheepish after discovering 20 lambs he reported stolen were still in their field.

It was believed the feeding lambs had been stolen from Cairntradlin Farm, Kinellar, near Blackburn, on Monday night.

Kenneth Marshall, who owns the land, raised the alarm with police after his daughter noticed tractor tracks leading into the field.

Mr Marshall, whose family owns Marshall Farms, thought the culprits had rounded the sheep up with dogs into a tractor and trailer.

He warned other farmers in the area to be vigilant.

But after recount of the 400 sheep in the field, the 20 ones feared stolen were discovered to still be in the field.

It appears that one of the farm’s tractor workers had gone into the field on a job, and left the marks in the ground that caused suspicion.

A police spokeswoman confirmed the incident had been reported, and that a recount of the flock had been suggested.