MORE than 40 yearling ewes have been stolen from a field in mid-Wales.

The sheep, which belonged to farmer, Derek Evans, had been grazing in the field near Sennybridge when the rustlers struck.

Mr Evans suspects that the thieves used a dog to round up the sheep because they had been herded across two fields.

Police are checking camera footage in an effort to identify any suspicious vehicles in the area.

Mr Evans urged anyone to contact the police if they saw anything suspicious.

According to a recent report by rural insurer NFU Mutual, incidents of livestock rustling cost the UK around £2.9m a year. But, because many farmers don’t insure their livestock, the true value could be much higher.

Although most farmers mark their livestock clearly and count numbers regularly, animals continue to go missing from fields and farms. “Instead of a handful of sheep, we are now seeing hundreds of sheep being stolen from farms,” said Tim Price, of NFU Mutual.

Anybody with any information about this theft is asked to call the police on 101.