Rural crime

THE National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) has recruited an extra police officer to strengthen its agricultural vehicle crime-fighting unit.

New powers to tackle hare coursing and illegal encampments were enshrined in law last week, after the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act was given Royal Assent.

More than 150 sheep have been stolen from land near Llanwrtyd Wells in a five-month period.

A Welsh Farm Group has been set up to support police in tackling rural crime. 

A homemade sign which warns trains to slow down to protect ‘sheep on line’ has sparked an investigation by the British Transport Police.

A homemade sign which warns trains to slow down to protect sheep on line has sparked an investigation by the British Transport Police.

More than £25,000-worth of GPS receivers and screens have been reported stolen across rural locations in Staffordshire in the last 30 days. 

As green shoots literally reappear and multiply amidst the UK’s farmland hedges and woodland, so too will visitors and day trippers re-emerge en mass this Easter weekend as the countryside once again gears up for an influx of people.

Police responses to sheep worrying incidents are improving as more farmers opt to report the crime, industry chiefs have said. 

A Government proposal to ban local authorities from charging for DIY household waste disposal could help curb fly-tipping incidents, industry chiefs have said.