Rural crime

NFU Mutual has provided Police Scotland with a 4x4 vehicle to help tackle crime in the countryside.

A stolen border collie responsible for keeping 800 ewes in check will be reunited with its farmer following a police investigation by Devon and Cornwall Police and Warwickshire Rural Crime Team.

Defra’s latest fly-tipping figures fail to tell the ’full story of disgraceful behaviour which blights the countryside’, CLA president Mark Tufnell has said. 

Recent cuts to police budgets have left rural communities feeling anxious, but where funding is allowing dedicated rural crime teams to operate, forces are seeing positive results. Lucy Baxter spent the day with the South Lancashire Rural Task Force.

Farmers have been urged to be vigilant as rising fertiliser prices could lead to increased thefts.

A farmer has sparked an appeal for information after thieves stole 220 solar panels and two inverters worth approximately £70,000 from a field in Lincolnshire.

High Peak MP Robert Largan, Conservative, put forward a Bill in Parliament last week that would ban the use of disposable barbecues on open moorland and give councils the power to prohibit their sale.

Cuts to police budgets could leave forces unable to enforce the Government’s crackdown on livestock worrying, according to Labour’s Shadow Farming Minister Daniel Zeichner.

Rural insurer NFU Mutual has issued some security advice to help farmers protect their fuel in case of prolonged shortages.

Gun owners who bought weapons via the Guntrader website are being warned that their personal details have been posted online following a data breach.