Horseshoe fitting equipment and van stolen in Worcester

Lexy Winks, who lives near to Worcester Racecourse, is a mobile farrier, travelling to clients' homes to fit horseshoes.

Last Friday, Lexy left her home to discover her blue Mercedes van with all of her equipment for work had been stolen.

She said: "I had been ill for all of last week which is a real rarity for me, so I had not been working.

"On Friday (August 26), I was leaving to visit the doctors and the van was gone from my driveway.

"As my business is mobile, this has literally taken away my livelihood, it has been such a difficult time".

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The van contained lots of handmade, horseshoe fitting equipment, a large number of horseshoes and lots of sentimental memorabilia.

Lexy said: "The hardest thing to take is that there were a lot of sentimental things in that van left to me by a close friend who sadly died.

"The handmade tools also have my name engraved into them. I just want to try and get as much of the equipment back as I can, they are not of use to anyone unless they are in my trade.

"The equipment is worth thousands of pounds and is needed for me to carry on my career."

Lexy Winks' name on a handmade hammer.

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Lexy posted on Facebook about her stolen van and said she had received lots of information on where the van had last been seen.

She said: " I was told that the van had been seen in Droitwich and quite frequently around the city centre as well.

"I reported this all to the police, as well as the initial theft on the day, but when I was reporting the crime it was at the same time as when West Mercia Police were having issues with their phone lines and I was connected at first to Coventry."

Lexy also highlighted the kindness of the "farrier community" who have rallied together to help her get back on her feet.

She said: "The kindness of good people around me really helps to restore your faith that not everything is bad.

"People have lent me equipment and have offered to help me out whilst the van is missing.

"Without their support, I would have been in a much worse place."

READ MORE: Scooter seized by police on Fairmount Road in Brickfields

If you have any information about the van and equipment, you can call the police on 101 or use the 'Tell Us About' form on the West Mercia Police website.

Alternatively, you can speak to the independent charity Crimestoppers anonymously at https://crimestoppers-uk.org/ or 0800 555 111.