A CHOP-shop has been discovered in Harwood by police investigating the theft of a vehicle.

Police said they discovered the operation on Stitch-mi-Lane.

A chop shop is a place where stolen vehicles are dismantled so that the parts can be sold or used to repair other stolen vehicles.

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It was discovered on Earls Farm to the shock of tenants.

A spokesman for Greater Manchester Police said: “It was a ‘chop shop’ that was discovered after officers located a stolen vehicle.

“No arrests have been made and an investigation is on-going with officers following up a number of lines of enquiry.

“Anyone with information can report it online at www.gmp.police.uk or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.”

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David and Karen Yates of Earls Farm told The Bolton News of their shock at what had been discovered.

The Bolton News: David and Karen YatesDavid and Karen Yates

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Karen said: “We were completely and utterly shocked.

“The first we knew about it was when the police were on our land.”

She added: “Curtain wagons had been arriving for the fortnight before the police found the chop shop.”

Karen said: “The unit it was in is at the bottom of the farm, so you can’t always see what’s going on.

“The person said they were a mechanic, so if you walked down there, you’d see cars.”

David added: “We knew nothing about what went on.”

The couple themselves are locked in an eviction battle with the council and are fighting to stay on the farm, which they say has been in the family for 300 years.

Harwood: Earls Farm couple vow to fight Bolton Council eviction order The order was served to the couple at the start of March, but they say they are determined to resist it and protect their own livelihood, as well as those of others who use the land.

David has run the farm since the death of his father, William Yates, in 1995.

Anyone with information about the chop shop can report it online at www.gmp.police.uk or call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

 

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