Horse raiders

Showjump pair stole £50k kit from riders

- Chris Riches

TWO showjumpers narrowly avoided jail after stealing more than £50,000 of equipment from other riders.

Kieran Quinn and Jamie Aston took specialist saddles, stirrups and boots.

Manchester Crown Court was told they even drove hundreds of miles at night to break into lockers in stables.

Quinn texted his partner Aston at 4.54am during an international horse show at Bolesworth Castle, Cheshire: "Take what you have. People are starting to wake up."

The thefts were exposed when victims found their tack for sale online and police used phone mast data to place the pair at the crime scenes.

Quinn - who won Search for a Star at 2015's Horse of the Year show - and Aston admitted theft and handling stolen goods.

Greed