A phone call from a local scrapyard owner directed Grahamstown farmer, Peter Wylie, to an irrigation pump stolen from his farm on Tuesday 8 April.
A phone call from a local scrapyard owner directed Grahamstown farmer, Peter Wylie, to an irrigation pump stolen from his farm on Tuesday 8 April.
Wylie collected the pump from the police station yesterday after a tip-off from scrap dealer Leonard Bodill.
The police had retrieved it from another scrapyard, Wylie said.
Bodill, who owns Metal Masters, described how he had realised the pump was probably stolen, and managed to identify the owner.
That Tuesday, Bodill said, three young men had brought an irrigation pump on their donkey cart to his scrapyard to be traded in for cash.
The men said that they had found the pump and mentioned Wylie’s Dairy Farm.
“When I heard them say Wylie’s Farm I became suspicious because I know he is not the type to give scrap away,” Bodill said.
“I don’t have his number so I phoned [another farmer]who then phoned him.”
Bodill said that scrap of high value require viewing of an ID before they can be traded in.
“I asked the men for identification, but by the time I had returned from my phone call they had taken the pump and left,” Bodill said.
Singh Inder, owner of Scrap Metal said that two men arrived at his scrapyard on the same day riding a donkey cart with the same pump.
“I asked for ID, they left the pump and ran away after I said I’d phone police,” said Inder, “I gave no money.”
Wylie said a police officer had collected the pump from another dealer, Scrap Metal, after Wylie phoned them.
While Wylie received the pump today, he was told that the officer had hurt his back picking up the heavy pump and had been taken to hospital.
“This weighs more than 100kg,” Wylie said, “But I really appreciate him helping me.”
Wylie said he had experienced numerous various incidents where metal was stolen from his farm.
“My windmill was taken and broken into pieces so that it was unrecognisable when traded in and they still have not taken the story to court,” Wylie said.
Wylie is shocked that the men were able to carry the pump off of his farm.
“This is a huge problem, but the pump is not the issue; it involves the will to carry on.”
