Hampshire farmers suffer £1.4m losses thanks to criminals stealing machinery and livestock

CRIMINALS targeting machinery and livestock cost county farmers nearly £1.4m last year.
67 piglets were stolen from the farm in Damerham, Fordingbridge, Hampshire, between May 20 and May 28, and have the reference HB0789 tattooed on them. Hampshire Constabulary / PA Wire67 piglets were stolen from the farm in Damerham, Fordingbridge, Hampshire, between May 20 and May 28, and have the reference HB0789 tattooed on them. Hampshire Constabulary / PA Wire
67 piglets were stolen from the farm in Damerham, Fordingbridge, Hampshire, between May 20 and May 28, and have the reference HB0789 tattooed on them. Hampshire Constabulary / PA Wire

In its 2020 Rural Crime Report, published today, rural insurer NFU Mutual revealed Hampshire farmers were left £1,366,478 out of pocket in 2019.

Criminal gangs have been targeting high-value tractors, quad bikes and large numbers of livestock. The losses are a 21.1 per cent increase on those in 2018.

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But there is concern that rural crime, which is at its highest level for eight years totalling £54.3m, could escalate as the economic impact of coronavirus crisis hits.

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Rebecca Davidson, NFU Mutual rural affairs specialist, said: ‘There’s no doubt that organised criminal gangs continue to target our countryside but these figures would be much higher if it weren’t for specialist rural crime teams in police forces, and improved farm security measures such as trackers for tractors and quads.

‘Rural crime is like a wave as organised criminality spreads through our villages, farms and rural towns, affecting everyone in the countryside. We continue to work hard to stem the tide and are warning rural communities and helping with prevention advice, as there are concerns for the months ahead as the economic impact of coronavirus bites.

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This year NFU Mutual spent £430,000 on tackling rural crime, including a police UK-wide agricultural vehicle crime tracking and recovery unit.

The National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service (NaVCIS) co-ordinates farm machinery theft intelligence between NFU Mutual, police forces, Border Force and Interpol.

The insurer has also provided funding for the welfare and shelter of stolen farm animals as police investigate and track down their owners.

Speaking about crime under coronavirus, Ms Davidson added: ‘Our provisional theft claims data for the first half of 2020 indicates that, while rural theft fell overall during the early part of pandemic lockdown, we’ve seen a number of national trends including a spike in livestock rustling in April.

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‘There’s no doubt that organised criminal gangs are targeting our countryside again and these figures would be much higher if it weren’t for specialist rural crime teams in police forces, and improved farm security measures such as trackers for tractors and quads.

‘However, it’s not good enough for one successful security measure or initiative to displace organised criminality to another area.’

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