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Search forThieves are driving me out, says carriage owner
Wednesday, November 19, 2008, 17:07
Horse and carriage driver Davie MacDonald says he can't afford to keep his business going after thieves broke into his stable and stole £6,000 of equipment, including a carriage.
Instead, Mr MacDonald hopes to become a regular four-wheeled cabbie – and leave his four-legged friends behind.
He said: "I am absolutely gutted that this has happened to me.
"I came back from college and found that my gate had been forced open and the stables had been broken into. I called the police straight away.
"It was a complete mess, everything was everywhere, and then I noticed that all my expensive harnesses had been stolen.
"Someone had stolen more than £6,000 worth of my equipment and an old carriage. I have been left penniless and without a business.
"The harnesses were really rare and most were imported from America – it is really devastating.
"This was my livelihood and now I will have to give it up.
"I am struggling to pay the bills as it is but now I have to try and find another way of making money."
Mr MacDonald, who is studying equine dentistry at Hartpury College in Gloucestershire, keeps his four horses – Bob, Oscar, Tattoo and Rocky – at the stables.
He has operated the horse and carriage taxi business for more than five years around the city centre and is the only person who offers the service.
He said: "I think I might have to sell my horses now. They were all used to pull the carriages, it is sad that they won't be able to do that now."
Mr MacDonald, who was not insured, is trying to arrange an urgent meeting with Bath and North East Somerset Council's licensing department to see if he can use his taxi plate on a car.
A police spokeswoman said: "Police were called to a burglary at North Road in Bath at 12.38pm on Saturday. No arrests have been made."
If anyone has information on the whereabouts of Mr MacDonald's equipment they should call Bath police on 0845 456 7000.
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