Thieves are returning to the countryside for rich pickings and householders are being urged to up security
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More than £1.1m of farmyard equipment was stolen across the county ast year. The staggering amount of rural theft in the county puts it in the top ten worst place for agricultural crime in the UK.
Gloucestershire was the sixth worst affected county for rural theft. Costs for these crimes are mounting up, last year reaching £1.163m.
While the national trend for rural crime costs across the UK fell, the picture in Gloucestershire showed an increase. Farm vehicles remain top of their target. Thefts of Land Rover Defenders, quad bikes, and trailer thefts continue to plague the countryside.
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Worryingly, research by NFU Mutual indicated thieves were returning to the countryside once more. The NFU report describes well-organised criminals involved in the thefts.
Land Rover Defender owners battled a barrage of crime as the rocketing value of second-hand cars and replacement parts saw thieves stealing the iconic British 4x4 vehicles and stripping them down, with the cost of claims shooting up by 87 per cent to £2.6m nationally.
And although NFU Mutual saw the cost of stolen quad bikes and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) fall 11 per cent to £2.2m in 2021, almost half of those thefts took place from September to December. As shipping delays and the effects of Covid and Brexit contributed to low supply and a rise in demand, thieves turned their sights back to these easily portable, hot-ticket items to capitalise on growing waiting lists and soaring market values.
Rustling has also become more lucrative for criminal gangs, and latest analysis shows farm animals worth an estimated £2.4m were stolen in 2021. Soaring food prices could mean that livestock theft now increases, raising concerns about food security, animal welfare and people's health due to stolen animals being slaughtered in unhygienic conditions.
As fuel prices are expected to soar this winter, farmers are being urged to boost security. In a new poll of the rural community by NFU Mutual, almost half of respondents (49 per cent) said that fuel theft was now their greatest crime concern.
Alfred Bryant, Agent at NFU Mutual Moreton-in-Marsh, said : “Our latest claims figures warn that rural theft is quickly gathering momentum as criminals make up for time lost over the past two pandemic years. We’re advising rural people to review their security, to help prevent crime and disruption.
“With prices of essential farm equipment such as tractors and quads rising fast and the cost of diesel soaring over the past year, there’s little doubt that criminals will be trying to steal from farms. We also know that essentials of rural living like heating oil tanks will only become more attractive to thieves as costs rise.
“NFU Mutual is responding by helping those living and working in rural areas to put in place effective security measures and by continuing to provide major support to enable dedicated police resources to tackle crime.”
Last year, NFU Mutual invested £430,000 in rural crime initiatives. This includes support for an agricultural vehicle theft unit at the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) which recovered stolen vehicles and farm machinery worth £2.6m last year. The unit delivers intelligence, training, and works directly with police forces across the country to combat rural crime, in addition to joint international operations to seize stolen machinery from overseas.
NFU Mutual has a dedicated in-house team that works closely with specialist national police units, police forces, the security industry and agricultural machinery manufacturers to share information to assist in crime prevention, recover stolen property and provide security advice.
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