Kaleb Cooper has spoken about the theft of 11 sheep from the farm he manages for TV star Jeremy Clarkson. Thames Valley Police has confirmed it is investigating the theft and that no arrests have been made yet.
Jeremy and Kaleb discovered the animals were missing when he went to count the flock in Chadlington, Oxfordshire, with the former Top Gear host, 66, saying: "It p**ses me off. Honestly, it just p**ses me off."
Kaleb's response to the theft
Speaking to the Mirror at the first Hawkstone farm festival held at the Farmer's Dog pub, Kaleb, 28, said: "Well I can believe it, because it happened, you know."
He added: "This is the problem isn't it? How do you know that someone's not gonna go and rob that field at the top there when you're out on a night out? You just don't know. Nobody else is looking out for you."
Revealing they are deep into filming the Netflix series of the Amazon Prime hit, Kaleb added: "And there's cameras everywhere. But it's in the police's hands now. We have to leave it to the police."
Police investigation and appeal
Thames Valley Police appealed for anyone with information to contact them on 101. They said: "The theft has occurred at some point over the last ten days and was unwitnessed. The theft was reported to the force on Wednesday. No arrests have been made."
Celebrity guests at today's Hawkstone festival included Gavin and Stacey's Larry Lamb and former PM Sir David Cameron as well as 1000 punters in the sold-out crowd.
Clarkson on farming and animals
Jeremy said at the event that he'd become a changed man after getting into farming and now shows genuine concern for his animals whether he's eating them, selling them or feeding them to diners in his restaurant.
He said: "I really hated my piglet's dying. And then we think Endgame [his Aberdeen Angus bull] has got TB and that’s terrible too. But that's the worst thing, honestly. I make so many mistakes and crash into gate posts and break things and so on and so forth, but the animals… It’s the weirdest relationship, you know they're going to be sold in the pub and other people are going to eat them. But you don't half love them when you've got them on the farm. I could watch James May get run over all day, but I get a bit wobbly, and something gets in my eye when a piglet is ill."
Asked whether he believed the show had made his farm a target for thieves, Clarkson told The Sun: "It's more likely to make you a target than less, but I still don't think they've been stolen because they're on Diddly Squat. How can you [stop it] if someone's determined to steal your livestock? This is 1,000 acres, it's a big farm. Anyone could be anywhere and you wouldn't know."
Recent health and show news
Earlier this year, Clarkson revealed he had been diagnosed with "aggressive" prostate cancer, which had been discovered early, during an episode of Clarkson's Farm. In a subsequent interview with The Sunday Times, Clarkson said that a PSA test in April showed no indication of cancer and he is in remission.
On Wednesday, Clarkson appeared at the premiere of the latest series of Prime Video motoring show The Grand Tour, which will see three new presenters, Francis Bourgeois, Thomas Holland and James Englesman, take over from him, James May and Richard Hammond. Clarkson and Thames Valley Police have been contacted for comment.
