A Derbyshire woman has offered a £1,000 reward after large driveway gates were stolen from the entrance to her family’s rural land.
The 20ft-wide metal driveway gates, valued at about £5,000, were taken from Moor Lane in Little Eaton over a six-hour period on Monday afternoon and evening.
The theft has left the entrance to the property unsecured and exposed valuable equipment inside the land. Police believe the size and weight of the driveway gates mean the crime would have required several people and specialist equipment.
Gates taken in organised theft
The galvanised steel electric gates, which had weatherproof timber bases, were installed in 2021 following repeated incidents of fly-tipping on two acres of recreational land owned by the Domachowski family.
Emma Marie Domachowski said it was “not the sort of thing you’d ever expect to go missing” and described feeling “shocked and sickened” by the discovery.
She added that she believes at least four people would have been needed to remove the gates.
£1,000 reward and ‘no questions asked’ return
Ms Domachowski said the gates were not insured, as it had never occurred to the family that such a large structure would be targeted.
She is offering a £1,000 reward for information leading to their return and told Homebuilding & Renovating she would be willing to accept the gates back with no conditions attached.
“Well, to be honest, I’d be quite happy to collect them ourselves as we do have hiab trucks and car recovery trucks if they were found,” she said. “The information doesn’t really bother me. I’d be quite happy with a no questions asked reward if the gates were returned.”
Police appeal for public help
Derbyshire Police said inquiries are ongoing and officers are appealing for anyone who saw suspicious activity in the area between 3.30pm and 9.30pm to come forward.
A neighbour reported seeing the gates in place earlier in the afternoon before noticing they had disappeared later that evening, leaving a valuable sit-down lawnmower exposed.
Police said any information, no matter how small, could assist the investigation.
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