A FARMER from Ely was honoured by police this week for helping to foil a thief caught stealing farm equipment from his land.

A FARMER from Ely was honoured by police this week for helping to foil a thief caught stealing farm equipment from his land.

John Borland, 52, received an official commendation from Cambridgeshire Constabulary at a special ceremony conducted at Ely Police Station on Thursday by sector commander Andrew Bartlett.

Inspector Bartlett praised the 52-year-olds quick-thinking in foiling the thief and also acknowledged his bravery in acting to stop the man trying to flee the scene.

“We are always happy to recognise members of the public who stand up and act, he said. “If it wasn’t for John’s actions he would be without some of his equipment and we wouldn’t have had anyone in custody.

“This certificate is a small gesture from Cambridgeshire Constabulary and the Crown Prosecution Service to recognise what you did and to show our thanks.”

The incident took place at Mr Borland’s farm on Cambridge Road in May when he received a call from a neighbour to say that a man was acting suspiciously on his land.

Having had equipment stolen from his farm on three previous occasions in the last year, the 52-year-old was keen to stop it happening again and raced over to the scene to confront the man.

Upon arriving, he positioned his vehicle to block the man’s escape and kept him there as the police were called. When officers arrived they searched the 21-year-old man and found an industrial battery. A subsequent test on his vehicle also found that he was using red diesel.

Mr Borland said: “I recognise that it is difficult for people to get involved in tackling criminals but on this occasion I weighed the situation up and made the judgement to step in.”

Insp Bartlett awards the commendation to John Borland. Photo: DM