© Alex Thompson
A farmer has been reunited with his stolen trailer and ATV thanks to the information he had logged with the farm safety initiative Tilly Your Trailer.
The trailer had been dumped on a farm in Binbrook, Lincolnshire, and the worker who discovered it rang Jane Gurney, founder of Tilly, to see if she could find out who it belonged to.
See also: In photos: Simple checks to keep farm trailers safe
The trailer had undertaken the Tilly Pass inspection, which is carried out on trailers across the country by authorised mechanics.
Each trailer is then given a unique certification sticker to confirm it has passed a thorough 18-point safety inspection.
Tilly tracking
“We tracked the certification out to who had done the inspection, we found out Ripon Farm Services had the certificate, and we quickly found the farmer’s address,” Ms Gurney told Farmers Weekly.
Contact was made with the farmer, Alex Thompson from Conisholme Farms, near Louth, who was able to go and collect his stolen trailer with the Gator on board.
The trailer’s vehicle identification number had been tampered with, but Mr Thompson was able to prove it was his using Tilly Pass data.
Ms Gurney said: “We were able to clarify the chassis number with the police that we had on our data from the inspection, then match the description of the trailer, the make and the model, as well as matching the Tilly certificate on the back.”
“Because he had a Tilly, he got his trailer back really quickly. He was able to identify it was his even though they had removed the chassis number.”
‘Hassle and headache’
The thieves struck Mr Thompson’s farm about two weeks ago, when they cut the locks on his barn before loading the Gator on to the twin axle fast tow trailer and making off.
But within a couple of days he had his kit back.
“It was a complete hassle and headache you could do without, but to get it back was brilliant news,” said Mr Thompson, who helps run the arable enterprise in Conisholme, growing about 930ha of combinable crops.
The farmer says the Till Pass safety initiative is something all farm businesses should look at.
“Everyone should be making an effort to make sure it [the trailer] is as safe as it can be, not only for the person on the seat, but for other people on the road.”
Dangerous trailer leads to driving disqualification for farmer
Farmers in Northamptonshire are being asked to check their vehicles are roadworthy, following the conviction of a 22-year-old farmer who towed a trailer with several defects through Crick.
Edward Greenaway of Rugby Road, Crick, was stopped by Northamptonshire Police on 19 October 2021.
He was transporting a large JCB digger on a trailer through the village, which has a weight limit of 7.5 tonnes. The tractor and laden trailer were found to be a combined weight of 33 tonnes.
In addition to being more than four times over the weight limit permitted for that specific road, the trailer also had 10 dangerous defects, including an insecure load, illegal tyres, and no rear lights.
The trailer’s handbrake was inoperative and the JCB bucket had not been secured to the trailer.
Mr Greenaway was later charged with driving a New Holland Tractor dangerously, due to the trailer’s poor condition.
On 22 April 2022, he pleaded guilty to the offence at Northampton Magistrates’ Court and received a 12-month disqualification with a requirement to pass an extended test and ordered to pay £523 in fines and costs.
