A Kent sheep farmer has had 116 sheep stolen from his flock of 460 ewes.

It is suspected that the £17,000 worth of sheep were taken to be slaughtered for black market meat.

Farmer Ed Lovejoy initially thought the sheep had escaped but after searching the local area and finding no trace he heard from a witness who reported seeing someone on a quadbike pushing sheep to the side of the field.

Mr Lovejoy said that the theft of his Romney sheep, would have a 'knock-on effect' on his business for two to three years. He suspects the animals were either sold on to a 'dodgy abattoir', or killed and butchered by the criminals themselves.

"There is years and years of breeding that goes into these sheep and you care for them all year round. For someone to just take them and steal them, it makes you feel pretty sick. I think they would have probably slaughtered them and put them into the food chain somehow.

"How do you secure 700 acres to stop people getting on it to steal sheep?" asked Mr Lovejoy. "I'm not sure it's possible. It is a worry that they're going to take more. If food becomes really expensive then there's always a black market."

The incident has been reported to the police, who have appealed for witnesses.