With the boom in demand for free-range eggs, owners say they are now being targeted by organised criminals who steal in large numbers and possibly to order, reported the Daily Express today.

Retired gas engineer Nigel Cank, who had 150 of his 200 rare-breed poultry stolen in one night, said yesterday: “I think there must have been up to six of them, and it was a pretty professional job.

“They sorted the birds out on site, leaving one or two that weren’t quite up to scratch. The birds, from about 13 rare breeds, were mostly point-of-lay pullets and would have fetched nearly £2,000 on the open market.