Renowned cook Jamie Oliver, 45, took off his chef’s hat and put on his police helmet to locate his missing tractor after it was stolen from his estate last week. The famous celebrity chef who regularly features on ITV’s This Morning, branded police response to the crime “lukewarm,” prompting him to take matters into his own hands.
The theft took place after midnight on April 29 after crooks snuck into Jamie’s country estate through a side entrance.
After making their getaway along country roads, the number plate of the vehicle was accidentally revealed, leaving them to dump the tractor in a nearby field.
A local branded the spot “remote”, and said it is a known dumping spot for criminals.
However, thanks to tracking technology, the star was able to locate the tractor and trailer.
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After spotting the number plate, Jamie was able to track his missing tractor down to a nearby field where it was retrieved.
The chef branded the police response “lukewarm” and claimed officers “weren’t interested” in visiting the site themselves, resulting in the chef and his team retrieving his expensive farming equipment.
The father-of-five said that “two guys” in a “4×4” stole his new trailer and tractor as he took to social media to warn locals in his native Essex about the theft.
“I just wanted to make you all aware there seems to be some confident casual theft going on in and around the village,” he wrote.
“I do realise the police are busy but this type of crime is very common. For me, when it’s active crime with good data etc why would you not follow up?” he asked.
The best-selling cookbook author went on to reveal how he solved the crime.
He explained: “Anyway, our security cameras picked up the burglars, their car and the number plate (they tried to cover it up but it fell off mid break-in). The car is taxed MOT etc. Everything they stole had trackers so we were able to see it play out,” he said.
However, the chef revealed that he had retrieved his equipment less than 12 hours after it was taken: “Anyway no bother we had it all back by 9.30am,” he added.
Addressing the theft, Essex police commented: “Officers were unable to attend immediately as they were dealing with other incidents throughout the night and early hours.
“The informants recovered the vehicles themselves before officers had the opportunity to get there. Our crime scene investigators attended at 10.15am that day, shortly after the crime was reported,” they added.
They continued: “No forensic opportunities were found on the vehicles but our enquiries into the theft remain ongoing.
The Police ended the statement: “We always prioritise calls where there is the greatest risk of harm to people and threat to life. This means we can’t always attend some incidents immediately but we do our best.”
