Stolen horse box from Canterbury recovered through police marking scheme

A victim has been reunited with their stolen property within 24 hours thanks to a Kent Police property marking scheme.

At 3pm on Friday 13 February 2026, the owner of a horse box and tipping trailer reported its theft from a farm in Wingham, Canterbury.

Officers launched an investigation and on the following day received details of possible sighting from a member of the public.

Patrols immediately attended a plot of land in Swanton Lane and a horse box was located on the unoccupied site. It was then identified as the stolen property due to discreet, unique markings that had been recently applied by the Rural Task Force.

Police Sergeant Darren Walshaw said:

‘Operation Mark is a free property marking scheme we provide to residents in rural communities. It helps us to promptly identify stolen items even when other identification markings have been removed by offenders. It also increases our opportunity to make successful arrests and prosecutions. ‘In this case we were pleased to return the horsebox to the victim and our enquiries are underway to identify those responsible for the theft.’

The tipping trailer remains outstanding, anyone with information that may assist the investigation should contact Kent Police on 01843 222289 quoting 46/25034/26.

Residents interested in having property marked can email the Rural Task Force at [email protected] to request the service.