‘Stolen’ sheep found sheltering in nearby wood

POLICE Scotland have revealed that a 100-strong flock of “stolen” sheep had simply wandered off to shelter in a wood.

Ewe didn't see us: The sheep were simply sheltering in a nearby wood. Picture: Ian Rutherford

The missing Texel and Cheviot mule cross sheep, worth £10,000, were reported stolen from a farm near Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway.

Officers appealed for help in tracking down the thieves only to reveal yesterday that no crime had been committed.

It comes a few days after it was revealed that the unlawful killing of six buzzards in Aberdeenshire was, in fact, a bag of dead chickens.

Police DNA-tested and fingerprinted several people in Fordoun before admitting the dead birds were not raptors and no crime had been committed.

Yesterday, Police Scotland confirmed: “The missing 100 sheep from farmlands at Waterbeck have been found safe and well sheltering in a nearby wood.”

A Police Scotland spokesman said the farmer found the sheep, four days after initially reporting them as stolen.

“He reported it as a crime,” the spokesman said. “We take these things at face value.”