A FARMER has claimed a Darlington car park has become an easy target for thieves after his vehicle and clamped trailer were stolen in broad daylight.

Mr Phillip Heslop, of Bridge House Farm, Fishburn, near Sedgefield, parked his Daihatsu TDS Fourtrack and seven-month old cattle trailer in Park Lane car park on Monday at 10.30am.

He parked next to another farm vehicle and clamped his own trailer before walking the short distance to Darlington auction mart.

But when he returned two hours later, only the clamp remained on the ground.

He told the D&S Times: "I felt absolutely sickened. I always clamp the trailer even when it is parked up at home but they just smashed the clamp right off and drove the trailer away using my Fourtrack.

"The mart staff have told me cars and wagons are going at a rate of one a week now, but nothing is being done.

"The car park has become an easy target. Thieves have got to be watching and knowing we are gone for around two hours, and are targeting certain vehicles. I am sure they are being stolen to order."

The registration of the stolen metallic green Daihatsu is K45 DEF and the Ifor Williams 10ft cattle trailer, which is still noticeably new looking, had been postcoded on the inside of its roof.

The police have taken the clamp for fingerprinting.

One hour after Mr Heslop reported his loss to the police, another report came in of an attempted theft of a four-wheel drive vehicle from the same car park.

This latest incident makes five in the spate of only three weeks from the council-owned car park. On January 6, an HGV and trailer left overnight were set alight. On January 12, a set of loading ramps were stolen from a trailer and two days later thieves broke into a car and stole a cassette player. On January 18, a cargo box van was stolen.

A spokesman for the council said: "Work is scheduled to begin before April to refurbish the site and turn it into a pay and display car park with two 24-hour CCTV surveillance cameras."