A TRACTOR worth £10,000 was stolen from Heighington by a thief who drove it past a farmhouse and a cottage as they made their escape.

The John Deere tractor had a trailer attached to it and was stolen some time between 5pm on January 3 and 7am the following morning.

It was locked in the grounds of Greystones Farm and was driven past the farmhouse while the occupant was inside and past a cottage at the end of the farm track, but nobody witnessed the theft.

PC Julian Brown said it was likely that the vehicle would be shipped abroad and he urged anybody who witnessed anything suspicious in the area at the time of the theft to contact police.

The tractor is green and yellow with the registration number L965 OTS and anyone with useful information should contact Durham Police on 101.