A TORFAEN farmer has been left furious after a recent spate of sheep rustling on his land.

Brian Davies has been a livestock farmer for more than 50 years but said he is ‘at the end of his tether’ after four sheep have gone missing over the last few weeks.

The farmer and land-owner, whose holdings cover 120 acres around Abersychan, stated he had a similar problem this time last year but before then he has never had a rustling problem.

Mr Davies, 72, said: “They are going at a rate of one or two a week, so far this month I have lost four and it happened last year but it’s getting too much and it can’t go on.

“It happened around the same time last year but then it stopped, I haven’t lost any sheep except for an incident around 18 years ago and when you consider the knock-on effect, it’s obviously costing me a lot.”

On top of the three Mr Davies lost on his own land in 2015, a further 19 went missing on local common land and he has since reported the issue to the police.

Mr Davies, of Waterworks Lane, added: “I have looked everywhere, all of my sheep are marked with both my farm number and a livestock number so I know exactly which ones have gone and if they turned up at an auction then it would come up.

“When you consider how much a ewe is worth, it’s costing me at least £2,000 if not more. I have spoken to my neighbours and local farmers around but no one knows where they have gone. My main concern is how many more will go before this stops.”

The last time Mr Davies lost any of his 900 sheep was when a violent dog attacked and killed a number of his sheep near the end of the nineties.

He took over the farm fully when his dad passed away in 1984 and also herd cattle until national issues with TB (Tuberculosis) meant he sold off the last of his cows in 2006.

A Gwent Police spokeswoman said: "“On Friday 23rd September at approximately 10.10am, we received a report of theft of sheep from Penyrheol Farm, Pontypool.

“Officers are keen to speak to anyone who has any information on this incident or may have witnessed anything suspicious that could assist in our inquiries. If this is you or you have any information then call 101 quoting log 136 23/09/16."

Any of Mr Davies’ sheep will have the tag mark UK723568.