THIEVES made off with an unusual haul from a Verwood golf club.

Almost 100 leylandii trees were ripped up by the roots and stolen overnight from the Crane Valley Golf Club sometime between 10pm on Tuesday, May 14 and 5.45am on Wednesday, May 15.

Even more unusually, the theft seems to be one of two of its kind in the town, although police aren’t linking the crimes.

Andrew Blackwell, operations manager for Hoburne Golf, which includes Crane Valley, said 91 trees between five and seven feet tall were stolen during the raid.

“It was certainly a bit of a shock to find 91 trees had been dug up and taken overnight,” he said.

“We planted more than 300 trees last October and lots of members and visitors had commented on how good they looked. Unfortunately, because of the weather we have been having, the ground would have been soft and although they had been in the ground for six months, the roots would still have been quite shallow.”

It is thought the value of the trees at the golf club is between £800 and £900.

Thieves gained access by using bolt cutters to get through the front gate, and a member of staff at the club noticed they were missing at 8.20am on the Wednesday morning.

To speak to Dorset Police about the theft, call 101 quoting incident number 15:53.

The second tree theft happened in Black Hill, Verwood, sometime between May 10 and 14. Fifty trees were stolen.