TIRELESS thieves who picked up 2,700 golf balls one by one and dragged them away will not be able to sell them on anywhere, claims their owner Richard Pratt.

The thieves climbed over the fence at White Hills Driving Range, Stirton, during last Wednesday night and collected the balls by hand, put them in sacks and piled them into a car or van before escaping.

Mr Pratt said he arrived last Thursday morning and began his usual task of collecting up the balls from the day before.

But while he was picking up he noticed there were no balls in one area.

"I was flabbergasted. I drove round and there were none. I could not believe it," he said.

Mr Pratt said the thieves would have a difficult job selling the balls because they were stamped with the words "White Hills Driving Range", either a green stripe or a black circle, and "Range".

They also did not have any numbers printed on rendering them useless for anyone wanting to play on a golf course.

"The only place they could be sold to is another range," said Mr Pratt, who added that the police had contacted similar businesses asking their owners to look out for the stolen balls.

However there has been a suggestion that the theft could be connected to the Bradford riots where the police were pelted with golf balls.

Mr Pratt said the theft had come at a bad time when tourist trade was practically non-existent because of the foot and mouth crisis.

For the last nine years Mr Pratt has collected the balls on a morning ready for the day ahead.

But now an extra hour and a half has been added to his working day as he has to collect the balls at night after the club shuts at 9pm.

He has also had to buy in more "off the peg" balls for players that do not match the club's standard ones.

Mr Pratt said he thought the thieves were adults and not children because the balls would have been too heavy for youngsters to carry.

He has offered a reward to anyone who returns the balls. "I think once the thieves realise they can't sell them they will throw them in a ditch or skip, so if anyone comes across them I would offer a reward for them."

Anyone with information should contact Skipton Police on 01756 793377.