A farmer from northeast Cork has described his frustration on finding 10 of his round hay bales vandalised on Sunday.

Suckler farmer Dave Hawe found 10 bales of hay ripped open out of the 250 he had baled the day previous.

Three bales had been rolled out and two had been turned on their side.

It was not a huge cost, it was more the annoyance that got me

Hawe had finished baling the field at 9:45pm on Sunday and at 10am on Monday he received a phone call from his uncle telling him that the bales looked to have been disturbed overnight.

“I had first thought that it could have been a couple that had broken as they were baled before I saw the few bales rolled out,” the farmer said.

The bales had to be rolled out and rebaled by the farmer. / Dave Hawe

“It took an hour and a half to roll them fully out and come back with the baler to redo them. It was not a huge cost, it was more the annoyance that got me.

“I was lucky not to have been an elderly farmer or someone that would have had to get a contractor in. It is not something you expect after finishing up after a day baling, happy with having the job done,” Hawe added.

An Garda Síochána attended the scene on Monday and spoke to the farmer.

The public are reminded to report any suspicious activity they see to the gardaí.