Thieves 'hammering' rural farms leads to new campaign
Video report by Ryan Dollard
Farmers in our region are being urged to lock up their equipment, in an effort to combat the growing problem of rural crime. The National Farmer's Union has started a campaign in Cumbria, where it says thieves have been "hammering" the rural community. It says as the dark nights draw in, farms are becoming even more of a target.
104 quad bikes have been stolen in Cumbria in the months between November 2019 and October 2020. Twenty-seven of these thefts took place in a single month.
Superintendent Carl Patrick, force lead for rural and wildlife affairs, said: “We haverecently seen an increased number of thefts within the rural community, specificallyquad bikes. This type of crime disrupts our communities and adversely affects thelocal economy.
“As well as reporting incidents such as a suspicious vehicles or persons it’s importantthat simple and basic steps are taken to protect your property such as ensuringoutbuildings are locked and that tools and machinery are kept out of sight.
“Installing tracking devices to property is also a great security measure and can helpsignificantly within an investigation to locate the property. Markings or data tags arealso really helpful so we can identify who the items belong to if found."