Valuable stolen digger recovered

Gardai have recovered a €60,000 digger and €5,500 trailer which were stolen from Kilmurray bog last weekend.  

A €5,000 reward had been offered for information leading to the return of the digger and trailer.

A spokesperson at Tullamore Garda Station confirmed the digger was recovered along with the trailer in Rathangan, Co Kildare on Wednesday.

The Hitachi 130 Zaxis digger, complete with a 6ft bucket and exceptionally large bog tracks, was stolen from McDonald’s peat bog in Kilmurray, Tullamore, over the bank holiday weekend.

The theives, who are thought to have struck on between 9am and 4pm on Monday, also stole the twin axle Chieftan machinery trailer worth an estimated €5,500.

McDonald International, who own the machinery, offered a €5,000 reward for information leading to the recovery of all of the equipment.

It’s not the first time the company has been targeted by theives. A driveshaft was also stolen from a New Holland tractor in recent weeks, a company spokeswoman revealed this week.

Gardai said the digger and trailer have been reunited with the owner. There were no arrests but investigations are ongoing and gardai are awaiting the results of a forensic examination.

There was no damage to either the digger or the trailer as a result of the theft, it has been revealed.