EXCLUSIVE: Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm Shop was CLOSED when thief snuck inside and stole £41 can of ‘Gin in a Tin’ while his accomplice distracted staff member – as worker says, ‘I can’t repeat exactly what Jeremy said when he found out’
- The brazen thief was caught stealing £80 worth of goods from Clarkson’s farm
- Do you know the men in the video? Email [email protected] or [email protected]
Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm was closed when a thief snuck in and stole a £41 can of his specialty Gin in a Tin as his accomplice distracted a staff member.
The former Top Gear host, who had recently been at the Cotswolds-based farm filming, was ‘fuming’ when he saw the CCTV footage, with one worker telling MailOnline ‘I can’t repeat exactly what Jeremy said when he found out.’
The famous shop is always closed on Mondays and Tuesdays because of licensing laws, which allows staff time to restock. But the door had been left slightly ajar, allowing the shoplifter and his associate to sneak in behind a female worker.
While one of the men distracted the shopkeeper, the other grabbed a pink bottle of the booze, thought to be the £41 Juniper, Beetroot, Apple and Dill flavoured gin, and stuffed it into his pocket.
One of the workers, who asked not to be named, told MailOnline: ‘Jeremy was fuming when he found out what had happened. That’s why he put the video out on social media. The culprit, or more likely, culprits, deserve to be caught.
‘I can’t repeat exactly what Jeremy said when he found out, but it would be fair to say he was not very happy. He’d been filming here for a day or two at the time.’
Do you know the men in the video? Email [email protected] or [email protected]
The man is seen sneaking two items from the Diddly Squat Farm Shop into his pocket before casually strolling around the shop
Another close up shot, posted on the Diddly Squat Farm’s Instagram, showed the second man involved in the theft, holding what appears to be a jar of honey or chutney
Clarkson, who has run the farm shop since 2020, told his fans ‘this man came ‘shopping’ at the farm shop’, adding that he would ‘like to meet the cu’
The man appears to have stolen the pink can of Clarkson’s Diddly Squat Farm Gin a Tin which is juniper, beetroot, apple and dill flavour
The thief is then seen walking past one of the displays in Clarkson’s store that is usually home to
It is unclear when the footage was recorded or if the police have been contacted
Clarkson went on to publish the CCTV footage on his social media accounts on Wednesday, telling his fans ‘this man came ‘shopping’ at the farm shop’, adding that he would ‘like to meet the cu.’
The video shows a bearded man, dressed in a black long-sleeve top, black gilet and black cap, casually taking the 50c bottle of gin, that comes in three different flavours, and placing it in his coat pocket.
READ HERE: So what exactly can you buy at Jeremy Clarkson’s Diddly Squat farm shop
He then takes another few items from a stall covered in baskets, home to Clarkson’s pricey range of chutneys and honeys, before shoving more items into his jacket while the other man stands near the till.
The worker added: ‘Because of licensing laws, we’re only allowed to open from Wednesday until Sunday, so Tuesday is the day we restock the shelves, which are usually pretty much empty after a busy few days.
‘But these cheeky sods saw the door slightly open and went in. My colleague was on her own and one of the guys distracted her while the other one helped himself.’
Police said the two men arrived and left in the same car. While one man went to the counter and bought £69-worth of goods, the other man wearing the cap stole two bottles of alcohol and another unknown item, worth around £80.
No arrests are known to have been made at this time.
Clarkson’s famous farm in West Oxfordshire is home to a number of luxury goods, where prices are significantly higher than supermarkets.
The men entered the famous farm at around 4.15pm on Tuesday afternoon. After taking the goods they then left the shop, jumped in a vehicle and drove of in the direction of Burford, West Oxfordshire.
Stepping away from his farm troubles, Clarkson was seen out and about in London’s Notting Hill waving at fans as he passed
The man appeared to look on his phone before deciding which item he was going to steal
He is then seen lifting up one of the items from the top shelf, while another man is seen waiting by the counter
A close up image posted on the farm’s Instagram of the second man involved shows him holding a jar of what appears to be honey or chutney as he speaks with the man wearing the cap.
Police told MailOnline they are investigating the incident following the report of shoplifting.
Clarkson fans were quick to comment on the post. One said: ‘Where’s security when you need them?’
A second joked: ‘When you steal from someone who has 6.7million followers and get caught on camera.’
While a third added: ‘People actually think cameras do not exist.’
Seemingly stepping away from his trouble at the farm, Clarkson was seen strolling through London’s Notting Hill yesterday, cheerily waving at fans he passed in the street.
A spokesman for Thames Valley Police told MailOnline: ‘We received a report of shoplifting at Diddly Squat Farm Shop in Chipping Norton Road, Chadlington, at around 4.15pm on August 8.
‘Two men entered the shop after arriving in the same vehicle. One went to the till and bought £69-worth of goods while the other stole two bottles of alcohol and another unknown item, worth around £80.
Here the man is seen placing the item into his coat jacket before he wanders around the shop and picks up a second item
The second item was taken from where Clarkson’s chutneys and honeys are usually stored. His Habanero chilli chutney sells for £5.80 while his Bee Juice and Honey Dipper sells for £16.50
‘Both men then left the shop, got back in the vehicle and drove off in the direction of Burford.’
Officers have urged anyone with information to call 101 or make a report on its website quoting the reference number 43230353268.
Alternatively, information can be provided to the independent charity Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111 or via its website.
Last month Clarkson had another issue at his Oxfordshire site – which is the subject of the presenter’s popular TV show Clarkson’s Farm – and was forced to issue a frantic warning to customers who may have bought exploding bottles of cider.
He urgently sounded the alarm after a ‘massive c**k up’ with their Hawkstone ciders.
READ MORE: Jeremy Clarkson in victory over council as he is finally granted permission to extend car park at his Diddly Squat farm shop (but the restaurant is still refused)
Issuing a panicked alert, the 63-year-old tweeted: ‘F*** F*** F*** F*** F*** F***. There’s been a massive cock up and as a result, there’s a very slim chance, some of our Hawkstone CIDER bottles might, there’s no easy way of saying this, explode.’
He added: ‘If the cap has the code L3160, open it underwater, pour it away and get in touch for a refund. [email protected].
‘Really sorry about this but on the upside, the beer is fine and still delicious. As is the cider, in bottles that are unaffected. Which is almost all of them.’
One customer responded to Clarkson’s tweet with a photo of the cider bottle, with the L3160 code, tweeting: ‘Like this? I had one last night and it was amazing, was looking forward to this one tonight.’
The Who Wants To Be A Millionaire host replied: ‘Open it while wearing a Hurt Locker suit.’
Another joked: ‘The cider is delicious really taste the apple I won’t let a little explosive cider put me off.’
The presenter responded: ‘Most cider you drink is made from concentrate. Ours is made with actual apples.’
Clarkson and the Costwold Brew Co launched the range of drinks back in 2021.
The Diddly Squat Farm social media page said that the bottles were exploding due to ‘over fermenting’.
It added: ‘If you have any of this batch it is important to dispose of it now under the water tap and take care as these are in glass bottles – then take a photo of the caps and we will send you a fresh batch or a refund … whichever you choose…if you have already drunk the cider please don’t worry – apologies from us all …’.
In June, Clarkson won a prolonged battle with the local council to extend the car park at his Oxfordshire-based site
Mr Clarkson joked with customers who had already opened some of the dodgy batch of ciders
The exploding cider came weeks after Clarkson won his battle with West Oxfordshire District Council to provide more car parking at his Diddly Squat farm.
The TV star had been locked in a bitter row with the council for more than a year after it refused to grant permission for him to extend the shop’s parking facilities.
Lack of parking space for visitors resulted in long queues of cars being left on the side of country roads causing boggy mounds and damaging land.
It triggered outrage among some locals in the leafy village of Chadlington.
But finally in June the council gave way for the extension and for change of use of the land.
Proposals to add a restaurant onto the popular site, however, were turned down.
MailOnline has contacted Clarkson and Thames Valley Police for an update.
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