NFU Mutual report shows rural crime costs the region more than £8m a year but farmers and Police are working together to fight it

But while its annual report shows that nationally the figure has risen to it highest level in eight years, totalling £54.3m, the region has shown the lowest increase at 0.4 per cent.

Rebecca Davidson, NFU Mutual rural affairs specialist, said the organisation welcomed the news that the North East region didn’t see the sharp increases of the rest of the UK, but stressed that rural crime continues to have a “devastating” impact on farmers and rural communities.

NFU Mutual is working to help those communities by supporting Rural Watch Schemes working alongside the police.

North Yorkshire farmers, John and Angus Dean, who run their family dairy and sheep farm along with an agricultural contracting business in the Threshfield area wanted to take action after their equipment was stolen.

“We’d been lucky in the past and hadn’t had any major problems with crime until a year ago when a gang of thieves started targeting the local area for quad bikes,” Angus explained.

“Our farm was hit in the night and the thieves had obviously been watching me because they broke into the locked building where the quad was kept. It’s unsettling to feel people have been staking out your farm which is also your home, and then it’s hard to shake off a constant feeling that they’re going to strike again.”

Claire Radley, from the NFU Mutual office in Skipton, said thefts from farms had become a “massive problem” in the area.

“Something had to be done. Every week farmers were losing quads and within three months 46 had gone missing from Upper Wharfedale, including farms in the Threshfield and

Grassington areas. In a predominantly livestock farming area like ours, quads are an important part of farm life.”

A meeting was arranged at the village hall involving local farmers, the local council, the Neighbourhood Policing team, and NFU Mutual to set up a new Rural Watch Scheme. A community

What’s App security group grew from ten to 90 plus members and information started flooding in.

Sgt Paul Evans, of North Yorkshire Police, who has been involved in the scheme from its inception, said: “There are challenges with a large rural area like Upper Wharfedale, which can take an hour to cross. But by having a network of individuals who are acting as the eyes and ears of the countryside we are able to track suspect vehicles more easily and gather key information.

“From sightings of abandoned quad bikes to dashcam footage of suspicious vehicles, reports and evidence from the initiative has helped us to catch thieves, recover stolen property and bring criminals to justice.

“We are definitely seeing a reduction in rural crime compared to before. Having an active Rural Watch scheme in place is also acting as a deterrent to the thieves who are realising that there’s more chance of getting caught. The success of the scheme has spread and other areas in Craven are now setting up groups.”

Claire said the group now has ten key members who carry out patrols and link in with the police patrols in the local area.

“We’re also spreading the word to make people aware of rural crime, and people are doing more to improve their own security.”