Rural crime

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.

A farmer has urged the public to report any unsupervised dogs, or incidents of dogs attacking sheep, after 29 sheep were killed in recent attacks.

A man from Hereford who stole £87,640 worth of sheep has been sentenced to eight months in prison.