It has been the worst possible start to the new century for the owners of the York Riding School.

Lorna Holstead, owner of York Riding Stables, in the room from where £13,000 of tack was stolen

With takings already halved because of roadworks at the entrance to the property, the school was dealt a further blow this week when saddles and bridles worth £13,000 were stolen.

The theft has forced the cancellation of riding lessons for pupils at the school, who include local children and disabled adults, since only four sets of tack now remain.

"It was not the best start to the New Year for us, and it has been very stressful," said owner Lorna Holstead.

"And it's just the latest in a long list of bad incidents for us - the last straw."

Mrs Holstead said she now felt "embattled" running the riding school from its location in Wigginton Road.

"When we moved here 11 years ago this was a nice rural location, but now we feel we are living in a war zone since the roadworks began in June and we had this spate of thefts. They've cleared us out now."

Other recent crimes at the stables have included the theft of a quad bike, car parts and power tools, and on Christmas Eve two other saddles were stolen from a locked building.

And Mrs Holstead said that she now regularly found intruders on her property at night.

She believes her takings have been halved because of the ongoing roadworks around the Wigginton Road roundabout on the York outer ring road.

Mrs Holstead added that the construction work had ruined the peaceful environment that was needed at the school, and that the restricted access to their property had made getting into and out of the riding school dangerous.

The tack was taken at around 1am on Monday morning from a secure room under Mrs Holstead's house.

"We are all a bit depressed," said Mrs Holstead.

"My customers are very annoyed that all this equipment has been stolen, and some of it belonged to other people who keep their horses here.

"I just hope now that I can scrape enough tack together from other places to be able to run some lessons as planned."

Anyone with any information about the theft or who saw anyone acting suspiciously near the riding school should contact York police on York 631321.

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