Rural crime

NFU Mutual said it has provided funds for the officer - specifically targeting livestock thefts - to join the National Rural Crime Unit

The Crown Prosecution Service said John Price had been responsible for illegally felling a large area of alder, willow, hazel and thorn trees which were around 50 years old

Essex Police said thieves had also stolen around £40,000 worth of equipment from the farm

Defra said an owner would be committing a criminal offence if they did not have a certificate of exemption

Dorset and Wiltshire Fire and Rescue Service said the fire had caused damage to a barn including a workshop and three vehicles

Surrey Police confirmed a 19-year-old teenager had been arrested after 14 lambs were 'run over' by a vehicle

Surrey Police said the incident had caused considerable distress to the owner of the farm and the wider community

Police constable Sebastian Haggett, of Dorset Police's Rural Crime Team, said the incidents had reflected some of the most ‘horrifying' offences he had investigated

Gate Street Farm said the culprits had broken secure gates to run over sheep in a field

Wiltshire Rural Crime Team said it had been aware of farms which had been earmarked by thieves to steal older machinery like classic Ferguson tractors