Shropshire is seeing 'unprecedented levels' of rural crime with farmers admitting 'nothing is safe anymore'.
Agricultural workers turned out in force to share their concerns with police at a rural crime event organised by NFU Mutual at Bridgnorth Livestock Market.
Farmers said they are being targeted day and night, on a daily basis, with thefts of tools, machinery – anything from quad bikes to tractors – and fuel. Flytipping, vandalism and livestock theft are other crimes having a devastating impact on farmers and their livelihoods.
Agricultural workers turned out in force to share their concerns with police at a rural crime event organised by NFU Mutual at Bridgnorth Livestock Market.
Farmers said they are being targeted day and night, on a daily basis, with thefts of tools, machinery – anything from quad bikes to tractors – and fuel. Flytipping, vandalism and livestock theft are other crimes having a devastating impact on farmers and their livelihoods.
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NewsTranscript
00:00 So I'm Jodie Swinton, I'm an agent for the NFU Mutual based out of the British North Office.
00:05 I'm Hannah, same job, I've been in the job for 15 years and we sell insurance to farmers but also look after their claims when items are stolen as well.
00:16 So yes, tell us a little bit about today's event which was a very well turned, a big turnout for it.
00:22 Yes, so we ran our second rural crime event today, really really well attended by lots of the rural community, not just farmers.
00:30 In attendance we had Maurice Caulfield, Chandler's Farm and Garden Machinery, ATV Track and Data Tag as well,
00:39 along with ANS Security, a camera company, to try and bring together everybody that we think can help our customers combat this big problem that we currently have.
00:50 Yes, given the turnout it suggests that rural crime is a real problem in Shropshire at the moment.
00:56 Yes, absolutely. This isn't a one-off situation. Farms are being targeted unfortunately on a daily basis, it's not just of an evening.
01:04 There are suspicious vehicles in farm yards every day unfortunately.
01:09 Obviously we all need to work together to make sure that this problem is sorted as quickly as possible which is why we've held the event today.
01:16 Shropshire has got such a huge number of farmers in the county and I think that's why it's been targeted.
01:22 It's a rural location and it's a really big issue for us around here.
01:26 What are some of the messages you're getting from farmers at the moment?
01:29 So, I mean it's across the board, you know, when they're not targeting one item of machinery,
01:34 they can be taking anything from chainsaws and strimmers and quad bikes right through to actual tractors as well and loaders.
01:42 The farmers are looking for support. They can only do so much in terms of putting in CCTV equipment and trackers on vehicles.
01:50 So, the point of today was to actually get all of these individuals as well as the police in a room to be able to come up with a plan as to how we can stop this.
01:58 I guess that kind of collaboration is sort of the key really to move it forward.
02:03 It's trying to get the whole community to come together and work together as one unit really and make sure people know they're not alone in this problem.
02:11 Unfortunately, they're all fully aware that it is a growing problem and I think Shropshire is definitely one of the hardest hit counties really nationally.
02:18 The turnout today suggests that, you know, rural crime is becoming more and more of a problem in Shropshire. Would you see that as the case?
02:27 It's really important to have events like this and as you alluded to then, the turnout was really good.
02:34 We did a similar event last year and I think we had a little bit more members this time around coming round, which is really good.
02:41 It shows that the rural and farming community are all talking and are aware of these issues and by getting everyone together,
02:48 it's shared experiences of good and best practice that people can do to protect themselves really.
02:54 So, I think these events are really, really important.
02:57 What are the main sort of crimes that are being reported to you at the moment?
03:01 So, we're seeing quite a lot of agricultural vehicle theft, so your quad bikes, in some instances some tractors are going,
03:10 which are obviously huge vehicles to steal, but these offenders are managing to do that.
03:18 We're also seeing lots of smaller tools, so your leaf blowers, your chainsaws, items like that are also being stolen as well.
03:28 In terms of what farmers can do to help you as police to tackle these issues, are there any key points that you would say?
03:38 So, it's being really hot on your own security, on your own property, so it's simple things like making sure vehicles are locked,
03:47 taking keys out of vehicles, unfortunately in the past people could leave their keys in their vehicles and it not get stolen,
03:56 but however as times have changed, that's just simply not a possibility, you can't do that anymore.
04:02 So, making sure vehicles are locked and secure for quad bikes and tractors,
04:09 looking at getting trackers infitted for those vehicles, because if a vehicle has got a tracker on it,
04:15 we are finding a lot of vehicles that way, so we're able to return them back.
04:20 It's getting things like CCTV, alarm systems on your property, I know they come at a price,
04:26 however you've got to look at the bigger picture, what's protecting your property at the end of the day,
04:32 so spending some money on some security items could protect your property.
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