‘It’s been quite emotional’: Cheese firm thanks ‘brilliant’ supporters after £300K cheddar heist

Staff at Neal’s Yard Dairy said they have received “remarkable” support after it emerged the company was the victim of a £300,000 cheese heist two weeks ago.

Neal’s Yard was caught up in the scam on October 21, after delivering 950 wheels of cheddar –  22 tonnes – to an alleged fraudster posing as a wholesale distributor for a major French retailer. 

The cheese was boxed up and sent off from the company’s maturing rooms under the brick railway arches of Bermondsey. But, after the payment date passed, all communication suddenly stopped. 

Operations director Owen Baily, 50, who lives near Nunhead Cemetery, said: “It was a dawning realistation that came throughout the week.

“We got more and more worried until it became clear that the money wasn’t going to come through.” 

The Met is investigating the incident and Neal’s Yard Dairy said it was working with “international authorities” to identify the scammers.

Since the incident, Mr Baily said the company has received messages of solidarity, offers of help and orders from new customers, in what he said has turned out to be “quite an emotional” turn of events.

He said: “It’s been brilliant – our customers have been very supportive, with messages and a flurry of extra orders placed by people to show their support.

“Our suppliers have also been fabulous – making all sorts of offers about extending terms and delaying invoicing. We won’t be taking them up on it because these are emergency measures.

“We are rocked, but it’s not a crisis.”

While Mr Baily described the situation as “extremely negative”,  the community surrounding the firm has created something “remarkably positive”.

He said: “We’ve got a community made up of lots of lovely people and I know some of them are very funny – reading through our messages some of them really made me laugh.”

The scam has also garnered the attention of some cheese-loving celebrities.

In a post to his 10.5million Instagram followers, celebrity chef Jamie Oliver said: “There has been a great cheese robbery. Some of the best cheddar cheese in the world has been stolen.

“If anyone hears anything about posh cheese going for cheap, it’s probably some wrong’uns.”

Mr Baily said the scam was a one-off in his career, which began at Neal’s Yard before the turn of the century.

He said: “I’ve never heard of anything like it. There have been tales of people snatching cheese from our shops, but I’ve never seen it.”

The scam has highlighted the company’s need for better security and verification checks of potential buyers.

Mr Baily said: “Obviously if we had fully confirmed their identity this wouldn’t have happened.

“It really highlighted the fact that while our systems are adequate, they need to be refined and improved and evolved.”

As for where the cheese may have ended up, Mr Baily has urged the public to watch out for any high-end farmhouse cheddar being sold cheap.

He said: “High value cheese is not the easiest thing to turn into anything else, so they must be planning to sell it.

“They may have already had customers lined up – but it’s very distinctive and a lot of people will be watching out for it.

“Cheese from a doggy source is not that easy to sell.”

Pictured top: Neal’s Yard Dairy maturing rooms in Bermondsey (Picture: Neal’s Yard Dairy)