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Thieves strip award-winning Norfolk vineyard BARE, taking 500kg of grapes worth £8,000 as wine

From the Newshound archive · first published 7 October 2026 · last updated 8 October 2026.

Winbirri Vineyard in Surlingham, Norfolk, where thieves stripped 500kg of grapes on September 22 — enough to produce 400 bottles of wine worth up to £8,000.
Winbirri Vineyard in Surlingham, Norfolk, where thieves stripped 500kg of grapes on September 22 — enough to produce 400 bottles of wine worth up to £8,000.

Winbirri Vineyard in Surlingham, Norfolk, was robbed of its entire grape harvest on September 22, with thieves leaving rows of vines 'completely stripped bare'. Owner Lee Dyer, who took over the family business from his father in 2010, says the 500kg haul — enough for 400 bottles of wine — represents a year's worth of work worth up to £8,000. The fruit itself was valued at around £1,000, but its wine value is eight times that. Dyer believes the scale of the theft rules out a lone offender.

'Someone feels it's ok to come on your property and just take it for themselves,' Dyer said.

Dyer is now considering costly motion-activated cameras — 'expense you really shouldn't have to be going to.'

Suspicious visitors arrived days before the theft claiming they wanted to pick grapes to make their own wine.

MoreDaily MailThieves steal 500kg of grapes from award-winning British vineyardThe IndependentThieves take 500kg of grapes from family-run Norfolk vineyard – worth up to £8,000Daily Mail NewsThieves steal 500kg of grapes from award-winning British vineyard as rows of plants are 'completely stripped bare'
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