A TENANT farmer is offering a £2,000 reward after falling victim to a gang of thugs who caused more than £20,000 of damage to his Carhampton business in an apparently motiveless attack. Pipes in the milking parlour of Briddicott Farm were slashed, two tractors were damaged, metal filings were put in the engine of a pick-up truck and, most sinister of all, the brake cable of a quad bike was virtually severed. Andrew Speed, who has farmed at Briddicott for the last eight months, said the damage to the quad bike was only discovered when the brakes failed as it was being used on the farm. "It was extremely frightening and we could easily have had a fatality. "The worst thing about all of this is that I have no idea why we were targeted," Mr Speed said. He is convinced the culprits are not local and believes they may have got the wrong target as part of "a hit". He believes the people responsible had asked for directions to the farm the day before the attack, which happened some time between midnight and 3am on Thursday, June 16. Initially, the damage was only estimated at around £800 and the Free Press reported that a vacuum pump and milk vat had been vandalised based on information available to police at that time. Since then, the cost has spiralled as more damage has came to light and Mr Speed's production has inevitably been affected by the attack. He said: "It wasn't a very nice thing to find, especially as we can't find a motive, but thankfully it should only have a short-term impact on the business. "Although the tractor is still out of action it's more the hassle of getting everything sorted and not knowing who and why." He said the attack was "clearly premeditated" and pledged to continue working at Briddicott, supplying local cheese makers as well as David Baker at Styles' Farm. Previously, Mr Speed farmed land owned by Mr Baker for some 12 years and is well-known among the local farming community. He said he had spoken to the previous tenant of Briddicott Farm and been assured no similar incidents had happened in the past, and he appealed for anyone with information to come forward. He said: "Somebody somewhere must know something about this and I hope that by offering a £2,000 reward for information leading to an arrest and conviction might just encourage someone to speak out. "It's not a nice thing to find your brake cables cut and machinery pipes just randomly slashed with a stanley knife. "We will get over this but we just want to know who did it and why." Police are particularly keen to trace the occupants of two cars seen acting suspiciously in the area on Wednesday June 15 and again in the early hours of June 16. One vehicle was a small blue car, possibly a Fiat Panda, while the other was darker. Both cars were seen driving slowly and in convoy at 4am on the morning of the attack. Anyone with information about the incident should contact PC Walker at Minehead police station on 0845 4567000, or Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.