Gangs of pig rustlers may be targeting farms across East Anglia, with one Suffolk producer losing £30,000 of animals in a matter of months.

Warnings have now been issued to farmers, amid fears of a dangerous black market meat trade.

A total of 287 pigs have been rustled from a Coddenham Green farm in just six months – equivalent to more than one a night.

Experts believe the animals, along with hundreds of others stolen in a spate of raids across East Anglia, will be heading for back-alley slaughter houses leading to “significant concerns” about health.

Suffolk police last night said they are working closely with colleagues in Norfolk, after a similar raid saw 127 pigs disappear from a field in the Gayton area.

Darren Giles, farm manager at Hill Farm at The Green, Coddenham, said he only realised the scale of theft at his property after taking animals to the abattoir.

Counts from two “crops” of pigs showed that 215 animals had been taken between mid December and the end of May, while a further 72 pigs have already gone missing from barns after being brought onto the farm in March.

Speaking yesterday, he said: “I live across the road from the pig sheds and I don’t hear anyone going round there. It’s all lit up with lights. “I’ve got gates up and I’m now going to buy a security system - that’s about £7,000.

Mr Giles added: “I think they’re doing it one pig at a time, they can’t get a lorry in because we would hear it. I think they’ve got a pick-up and are doing it that way.”

The 39-year-old who believes raiders could be coming to his farm every night, said the stolen animals - which belong to large scale pig farmer Malcolm Easey - were worth about £30,000.

He added: “I don’t know where they are going, because there is no mark to go through the slaughter system, unless they are selling them privately.”

Lizzie Press, regions manager for the National Pig Association, which represents the British pig industry, said animal thefts were becoming more prevalent.

She added: “It is something we are increasingly aware of, especially around Suffolk and Norfolk. There has been at least two or three other incidents over the last six months on other units.”

Miss Press said along with loss of income and bio-security issues, the thefts meant that pigs were being moved without a licence, which could be problematic if there were to be an outbreak of a notifiable disease.

She added: “We would also want to know what the pigs will be fed and where they will be slaughtered. Generally pigs go to abattoirs where the abattoir checks that paperwork is legal and compliant and generally they have to be red tractor assured. The black market trade, that is where these pigs will be heading, which raises significant concerns.”

Miss Press said it was hard to say where the meat would be sold but added that door-to-door sales was a possibility.

It is not the only crime to be reported in recent weeks. Seven pigs were stolen from a farm on Morleys Lane in Gislingham between Sunday May 19 and Thursday May 30.

Miss Press said she knew of one case where bespoke food had been taken with animals. She added: “There has been an increase in sheep rustling too. I think it is that sheep and pigs are the two easiest livestock species to get your hands on. I think it’s a sign of the current economic climate unfortunately.”

A spokeswoman for Suffolk police said officers are looking to see if there are similarities with incidents in Suffolk and across the border in Norfolk.

Anyone with information about these thefts is asked to contact Suffolk Police on 101 quoting reference ST/13/1518.