Crime-fighting llamas catch thief and make heroic ‘citizen’s arrest’

A failed thief has been caught by police after being blindsided by a herd of llamas.

Heidi Price and Graham Oliver were suddenly alerted to an intruder in their fields when they heard the cries of their heroic animals on Monday evening.

The would-be crook had only moments earlier stolen tobacco from a woman nearby when he darted off, but his escape plan was met with an unexpected obstacle.

He jumped over a fence into the farm off Carnfield Hill in South Normanton, Derbyshire, and was suddenly confronted by eight llamas, which chased him through the field before surrounding him and blocking his escape.

Heidi and Graham were swiftly alerted to the robber when they heard their animals crying out. When they arrived at the scene, the llamas had made an extraordinary ‘citizens arrest’, keeping the thief under their watch until police arrived and carted him off to the station.

Heidi said: ‘This was after dusk and an offender who just escaped police jumped over the fence into our farm. He had a torch with him, and he was running across the field.

‘We’ve got eight llamas and llamas don’t like people entering their personal space after dusk. Our llamas galloped over to him and surrounded him.

‘They literally made a circle around him, and then started releasing their warning cry, which sounds like an old man laughing. This alerted my partner, who ran out of the house with the dog.

‘He saw the man surrounded by llamas in the middle of the field. He didn’t know what to do next and looked absolutely terrified.

‘The dog got really vocal around the man’s feet, and he was scared of the dog as well. My partner led him back across the field, to where he’s come from, and back over the fence where the police arrested him.’

Heidi said she was ‘really proud’ of her llamas – and rightly so.

‘When all this was happening, they didn’t spit onto anyone so they good kept manners, even when faced with adversity,’ she added.

Llamas are notoriously protective and are often used as guard animals to protect livestock from thieves and wild animals.

Derbyshire Police confirmed a man was arrested at the scene and later released on police bail. A spokesperson said: ‘We were called to reports of a woman having a number of packets of tobacco stolen from her in Mansfield Road, South Normanton, at around 6pm on 2 February.

‘The suspect was seen to head off towards the woodland off Carnfield Hill. Officers attended the area and were approached by a member of the public who explained that someone was in their field.

‘A man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of theft and has been released on police bail.’

Heidi rescued the unlikely crimefighters 10 years ago from a farm that was closing down. The llamas would have been killed had Heidi not swooped in to save them.

She recalled: ‘When someone asked us to rescue them, we said no at first. But when we were told that they were going to be euthanised if we don’t help them, we agreed to have them for an interim period while they were rehomed.

‘Then we realised that nobody was actually looking for llamas and they have stayed with us. When we rescued them, they weren’t used to being touched by people at all.

‘Since getting them, I’ve done a lot of research and I became a member of British Llama Society. During Covid, I worked with them quite extensively so that we could handle them.’

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