Jeremy Clarkson has 11 sheep stolen from his Diddly Squat farm as star warns rustlers: ‘We’re armed – just so they know’
Jeremy Clarkson has revealed that 11 sheep were stolen from his Diddly Squat farm in Chadlington, Oxfordshire, discovering the theft while counting his flock with Clarkson's Farm co-star Kaleb Cooper. The former Top Gear presenter issued a stark warning to the culprits, stating the farm was armed, and expressed frustration at the incident, which he suspects occurred at night or on a day when no filming was taking place.
The stolen Easycare sheep were worth more than £2,000 at market, and Clarkson said he feared other livestock might also have been taken from elsewhere on the 1,000-acre Cotswolds farm. He acknowledged that the popularity of his Amazon Prime show could make the farm more of a target, though he doubted the sheep were stolen specifically because of its fame. The theft comes amid a difficult period for the farm, which has struggled financially in recent years and was hit by a poor harvest during this summer's hot weather.
- Clarkson reports 11 sheep stolen from Diddly Squat farm, worth over £2,000.
- He warned thieves the farm is "armed" and expressed anger at the theft.
- Comes amid ongoing financial struggles and a poor harvest at the farm.
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Jeremy Clarkson is a broadcaster and journalist, best known for the BBC's Top Gear before moving to Amazon Prime Video, where he now stars in the farming series Clarkson's Farm. The show follows his hands-on efforts to run Diddly Squat, a working farm in Chadlington, Oxfordshire, alongside local farmer and co-star Kaleb Cooper, and has made the farm one of the best-known in the country.
Livestock theft, sometimes called sheep rustling, is a longstanding problem for British farmers, with animals often targeted for their meat value and taken from remote fields that are hard to monitor. Diddly Squat covers around 1,000 acres of the Cotswolds, and its high profile has previously drawn extra public attention, including trespassers and traffic, alongside ordinary farming pressures such as poor harvests and financial strain.