• Online marketplaces are an attractive platform for the trade in second-hand trailers
• Analysis conducted by The Equipment Register (TER) found more than one in 10 (11%) trailers for sale on online marketplaces were either registered as stolen or had their identity plates tampered with.
• Victim of theft urges all owners of trailers to register them on TER’s global database to help halt the trade in stolen trailers

The Equipment Register (TER), Europe’s largest database of stolen plant and equipment that includes 1.85 million items of which 850,000 are trailers, announces the successful recovery of another stolen trailer last week in Staffordshire  – a year after it was stolen from its owner, Tom Hodkinson, Staffordshire business owner and founder of SWTCo Ltd, an engineering company that specialises in the servicing and repair of small wind turbines.   

Such theft has been an ongoing issue for farmers and agricultural businesses in the region, with the sentencing last week of seven men who were jailed for stealing millions of pounds worth of agricultural equipment in Shropshire and mid Wales, underlining the scale of the problem being faced by the rural community².

In September 2024, Tom Hodkinson’s Ifor Williams flatbed trailer was stolen from farmland in Staffordshire.  Despite reporting the theft to police and registering its loss with TER, Mr Hodkinson, whose insurance  policy did not cover the theft, feared he would never see his trailer again.  However, in late August 2025 he spotted his stolen trailer for sale on eBay and immediately contacted TER for advice.

Working with TER, Tom Hodkinson arranged to meet the seller, who also had several other trailers for sale.  TER accompanied Mr Hodkinson to the seller’s premises in Shropshire where the trailer was verified as his stolen property and recovered.

The seller, who claimed to have purchased the trailer in a roadside part-exchange deal had since spent £800 on repairs, and admitted that he had only subsequently checked the trailer’s history of ownership with TER after Mr Hodkinson had rung back to check some details. 

Tom Hodkinson, founder and owner of SWTCo Ltd, commented: “If it hadn’t been for The Equipment Register, I would never have got my trailer back.  Buyers think reputable online platforms like eBay will protect them or intervene in the event of a transaction involving stolen goods, but that’s not always the case.  If you’re buying or selling a trailer, it’s essential to check it against The Equipment Register’s database first to ensure it is not stolen.”

Treve Jenkyn, the Data Director at TER, commented: “Rural crime is on the rise and this case serves as a timely reminder that making a check against our database is quick, reliable and the only way to be certain a trailer is not stolen.  We urge buyers and sellers alike to make this check a formality and part of every transaction.

“As well as taking sensible precautions to protect their trailers from theft, owners can register up to five trailers pre-loss for free on The Equipment Register’s website. Buyers, dealers and auction houses, as well as the police and insurance companies check with The Equipment Register the criminal status of trailers that come their way,” says Jenkyn. “So registering a vehicle can help to reunite stolen goods with their owners much more quickly.”