A CONCERNED Hunts Post reader has offered �1,000 of his own money to help catch the people who killed a three-day-old calf in Brampton.

Derek Gladwin, 85, said he read in horror last week how animal thieves stabbed the calf in the eye with a screwdriver and left it for dead in a field off Bromholme Lane – part of Rectory Farm, Godmanchester.

He was so incensed by the attack he decided to add to the �2,000 reward being offered by the calf’s owner Basil King, for information leading to a conviction.

Mr Gladwin, of Biggin Lane, Ramsey, said: “As soon as I saw it published in The Hunts Post, I was so appalled I had to do something.

“No punishment is harsh enough for these kinds of people. I’m an animal-lover and I would do anything to help catch them.”

Pc Simon Page, from the Cambridgeshire rural community action team, confirmed to The Hunts Post yesterday the screwdriver used in the attack had been sent out of county, at cost of �500, for additional forensic analysis.

The results are expected within the next two to three weeks.

But farmer Mr King is still far from happy with the police and particularly Crimestoppers.

“Crimestoppers haven’t been helpful at all,” he said. “This is a gross animal cruelty issue and you’d have thought they would have wanted to be involved but nobody seems to want to do anything.

“They told me that they wouldn’t produce a poster. I could do that myself, but if I did I’d have to let them see it before I got it printed.”

Police confirmed the investigation is very much ongoing, and that they are still appealing for witnesses.

Mr King added: “I thank Mr Gladwin for his offer of a �1,000 towards the reward. He’s obviously a very concerned man. It’s a big thing to do and I take my hat off to him.”

INFORMATION: If you have any information about the incident at Rectory Farm, call Cambridgeshire police’s rural community action team on 0345 4564563 or Crimestoppers, anonymously, on 0800 555111. The �3,000 reward will be paid for information leading to a successful prosecution.