August 1, 2016 11.56 am This story is over 91 months old

Lincolnshire worst county in UK for rural crime

Lincolnshire has been named as having the highest rate of rural crime in the country. Rural crime cost the county £2,164,124 in 2015, almost £300,000 more than any other county in the UK. This was a 19% increase compared with 2014, when rural crime cost Lincolnshire £1.8 million. The UK-wide survey by NFU Mutual revealed…
| Photo: Fotolia

Lincolnshire has been named as having the highest rate of rural crime in the country.

Rural crime cost the county £2,164,124 in 2015, almost £300,000 more than any other county in the UK.

This was a 19% increase compared with 2014, when rural crime cost Lincolnshire £1.8 million.

The UK-wide survey by NFU Mutual revealed that machinery, quad bikes, diesel and oil were the most popular with thieves.

Lincolnshire Police and Crime Commissioner Marc Jones said: “Lincolnshire is obviously a very rural county and as such does suffer from rural crime activity which can be a real menace to rural communities.

“Rural crime ranges from wildlife crimes such as hare coursing to loss of farm machinery sometimes worth hundreds of thousands of pounds and many other things in between such as oil and diesel theft.

Tackling crime in our rural communities is a stated priority of mine since my election this May and these NFU figures showing the previous year’s losses in cash terms just goes to prove why I was right to focus on them.

“This being said a lot of work is constantly being done by Lincolnshire Police to tackle these crimes and the NFU are a very valuable partner in taking both preventative action and in helping police in enforcing the law.

“Rural communities are seeing reductions in important areas such as domestic burglary which is very welcome but I will continue to support the police in their efforts to do more.”

Hannah Bromley, NFU Mutual Agent in the Midlands said: “Rural thieves are becoming increasingly sophisticated and using computers rather than bolt cutters to steal from farms and country properties.

“It is disappointing to see that levels of rural crime rose last year, but to make matters worse, we have seen a spate of break-ins over the past couple of weeks with large amounts of valuable tools and machinery being stolen.”