The recovery of a stolen tractor at Trumera, Mountrath, Co Laois was “down to the community”, according to Laois farmer Jimmy Dunne.

Dunne's New Holland TS110 tractor was stolen from his home farm in the early hours of Tuesday morning and recovered hours later. The tractor had a power washer on the back.

“As soon as I saw the tractor was gone, I put it on the community alert and Facebook. A neighbour then called to say he had drove past it parked up behind a bush on the outskirts of Mountrath,” said a relieved Dunne.

Recovery

Dunne described the “strangeness” of the recovery and is baffled at why those who’d stolen the tractor would leave it on the outskirts of the local town at the “risk of being seen”.

A number of neighbours checked their cameras, which showed that the tractor had passed along the road at various times during the night between 3am and 6.15am.

Another neighbour noticed tractor tracks in a local bog and discovered the power washer near a small fire where Dunne believes the thieves had paused for a while.

When discovered, the cab of the tractor was covered in diesel with Dunne unsure of what the intentions of those involved had been.

“Maybe they had tried to set it on fire but had failed,” he said.

Need to be vigilant

The tractor is currently with the Gardaí for forensic testing.

Dunne said he “was devasted to see it was gone” but is “very relieved” to have found it.

He said the recovery was down to his community and thanked everyone who had helped on Tuesday.

A shaken Dunne, who’s had a difficult year with family bereavement, encouraged all farmers to be vigilant.