A DODGEMS trailer stolen from a family fun fair turned up the next day in someone’s garden.

George Scarrott told the Advertiser violent thieves towed the operations booth away from Lyneham village green on Saturday night after threatening staff who were in the middle of the annual Lyneham Fun Fair.

After a frantic search the trailer was spotted in a residential garden not far away in the village on Sunday.

The thieves had even taken the stereo equipment out and hooked it up in the living room to play music.

Owner George Scarrott, whose family has been running the fair in Lyneham for 90 years, said: “It was all opened up and all the speakers and music system were set up and was being used in that house.

“The neighbours reported loud music coming from the house the night they stole it.

“It was an aggressive theft, they threatened the staff and came back the next day and assaulted a member of staff, probably to try and scare them a bit, so they wouldn’t press charges,” he said.

Mr Scarrott reported the incident to the police, but because he does not want to take any chances the theft has meant the fair at Lyneham - which had been due to continue next weekend - has been cancelled.

It came as shock in the normally safe and friendly village where the organisers of the annual event didn’t expect to see any thieves on the prowl.

He added: “We’ve been going there generations and never had any trouble.

“The kids and the families really look forward to it every year but we’ve had to cancel it just for peace of mind.

“We can’t be worrying at night if they will come back and try to take anything else. It’s so uncharacteristic for the area, it’s not normal.

“We’ve lost a week’s worth of business, and for us it’s devastating because we’ve got such high overheads. To lose a weekend, it has a knock on affect. “The Lyneham people are ever so upset they’ve lost their annual fair.

“You expect it to be safe, on a little village green like that. The people there feel terrible for us, they’re a bit ashamed it could happen in their village.”

But the good news is the fun fair will return at Royal Wootton Bassett Carnival on May 15 and the May bank holiday event at Coate Water Park on May 25 - 28.

No arrests were made after the trailer was recovered.

Wiltshire Police has asked anyone with information about the incident to ring 101.