A BRIDGWATER business is offering a reward after a £200,000 bulldozer was smashed up and thousands of litres of diesel were stolen in an overnight raid.
Joe Notaro, managing director of Notaro Homes, has issued a £3,000 reward for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the people following the raid.
Thieves broke into the site at Lakeview Holiday Cottages where builders from Notaro are in the process of creating a new hotel and driving range.
The windows were smashed on the Komatsu Bulldozer, worth £200,000, the batteries and a tool box were stolen, and the vehicle was drained of around 200 litres of diesel.
The criminals also drained the diesel in the nearby bowser, stealing a further estimated 1,200 litres.
Mr Notaro said: “It must have been an organised operation with specialist equipment to pump out that much diesel and transport it off the site.”
Dave Bradford, who operates the Komatsu Bulldozer, was one of the first on scene after the raid.
He said: “It was a nasty shock when I came in to work this morning. It must have been quite a serious operation, I have never seen anything like it in all my years operating machinery."
Mr Notaro added: “They have caused a huge amount of damage. Forensics from the Avon and Somerset Police have been investigating the scene.
“When our site manager arrived at around 7am he found that the gate had already been broken into. This has set back our project, will cost us revenue on the lorries that were due to come in today, and has cost us a lot of money.”
He is offering a reward of £3,000 for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of the people responsible.
A spokesman for Avon and Somerset Police said: “We were called to Lake View Cottages after reports an offender broke into the site and damaged a bulldozer and had stolen some diesel from it.
“It happened between 5.30pm, March 16, and 7.15am on March 17. We are appealing for any witnesses or anyone who has any information, or saw any suspicious activity at the site between the times to contact us on 101 and quote crime reference number 5217058888.”
When completed Lakeview Holiday Cottages will include a luxury hotel with conference facilities, an 18-hole golf course and a mooring basin.
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