A John Deere 3420 telescopic forklift.

A UK agricultural company whose stolen forklift was found in Australia a year later will not recover it.

Sharmans Agricultural Ltd had a John Deere 3420 telescopic forklift and a John Deere tractor stolen from its Melton Mowbray branch in March 2005. Staffordshire police told Sharmans the equipment was found in an Australian dealership (Forkliftaction.com News #249).

Sharmans sales director Francis Disney said from Sharmans' Grantham headquarters there was no further news from the police.

"All I know is the tractor and the forklift were stolen on the same day and both ended up near Melbourne along with two JCB products and two other machines stolen from farms in Staffordshire.

"I've asked [the police] about this [recovery of the equipment] and there's no response yet," he said.

Disney said "other things" had been stolen from the company but the theft was the "first big hit". The machines' combined value was GBP120,000 (USD209,675), with the forklift worth GBP48,000 (USD83,870).

If the machines were brought back to the UK, they would not be returned to Sharmans as they now legally belong to its insurer.