Shotgun Cartridges Stolen In Marchamley

This morning (31 Jan. 2013) West Mercia Police have reported on their website the theft of up To 5,000 shotgun cartridges stolen in a burglary at Marchamley. They have appealed for information after up to £2,000 worth of shotgun cartridges were stolen from an agricultural supplier. The announcement on the website states:

Although the total amount stolen from the business in Marchamley has still to be established, at least 20 boxes, each containing 250 cartridges of various gauges were taken.
It is believed the offender or offenders entered the site from the main road between midday on Tuesday 29th January 2013 and 3.45pm on Wednesday 30th January 2013 and broke into a locked shipping container.
Enquiries to date suggest the theft may have taken place sometime between about 8pm and 9pm on the Tuesday; however this has not been confirmed.
Police Constable Steve Dalziel, who is investigating the burglary, appealed to anyone who might be offered shotgun cartridges for sale under dubious circumstances to contact police as a matter of urgency.

“It is likely that the offender or offenders had a vehicle due to the rural location of the premises and anyone who might have seen any suspicious activity in Marchamley during those two days can contact police on 101,” he said.

“The majority of the cartridges were manufactured by R.C. in 20, 16 and 12-bore sizes and a few of the other 20 gauge ones stolen will show the brand ‘Bornaghi’.”

“As far as we are aware, there are no other suppliers locally that sell these makes so they are fairly distinctive should you be offered them for sale.

“Anybody with information is asked to contact police on 101 or if they are concerned about being identified, call the anonymous Crimestoppers charity on 0800 555 111, where the operator will not even ask your name.”

Update: This weekend’s Market Drayton Advertiser lead story was a report of the theft and in it they identified the company concerned as Ellmor Ltd. which is based at Well House Barn, Marchamley. The paper said that the owners, Mike Ellerton and Roger Morgan, were unavailable for comment on Thursday at the time the paper had to go to press.