Police stop 180 vehicles in three day rural crime crackdown in Humberside

During three days of action, the Rural Task Force for Humberside Police were joined by neighbourhood and roads policing teams at Bainton in the East Riding of Yorkshire, on the lookout for stolen machinery and vehicles.

In that time, one stolen trailer was recovered and another vehicle was seized, while a total of 14 traffic offence reports were also issued.

PC Josh Fawcett from Humberside’s Rural Task Force led the operation.

He said: “Agricultural and plant vehicles are particularly vulnerable to theft, with assets sometimes stolen to order.

“Our region is home to many rural communities and we are passionate about protecting them against those who think they can carry out criminal activity there,” added PC Fawcett.

“The financial and emotional impact to rural communities from these types of offences can be severe. It’s not just the cost of replacing the equipment, but also the impact of temporarily reducing activities due to the equipment being stolen.”

Last month, NFU Mutual published its Rural Crime Report for 2022 which showed that the total cost of agricultural vehicle theft claims remains at £9.1m, as organised criminal gangs targeted farmyards for high-value tractors, GPS systems and trailers.

Trends for stealing quad bikes and Land Rovers has continued to rise but crime and insurance records revealed a new spike in the increase of trailer thefts, with claims totalling £1.75m received by NFU Mutual in 2021 – up almost five per cent on 2020.

As they are often left in fields and farmyards for long periods with little security, trailers are difficult to trace but easy to sell on without documentation, making them a favourite target of rural thieves.

Over in North Yorkshire, a rural crime watch group reported good results recently after volunteers shared information about suspicious behaviour that resulted in thieves being caught and high-value vehicles being recovered.

In Craven alone, information provided by Rural Watch led North Yorkshire Police to recover a Range Rover that was reported stolen from Craven after volunteers reported suspicious activity; track down vehicles that made off without paying for fuel in Grassington, resulting in police catching two different thieves who admitted the offences; seize one of these offenders’ cars after it transpired he had no tax or MOT and find another 4x4 reported stolen from Lancashire based on reports of suspicious activity shared by volunteers.

Sgt Paul Evans, based in Craven, said his team has been working closely with the groups in North Craven, South Craven and Upper Wharfedale, to reduce crime and target criminals.

He said: “Rural Watch volunteers come from all backgrounds. But they have one thing in common – they’re dedicated to helping us stamp out crime in their communities.

“We work closely with volunteers and this scheme is in no way a substitute for good rural policing. In fact, the information and local knowledge they provide actually helps us deliver even stronger policing in these communities.

“And results like these show what a positive impact Rural Watch is having in North Yorkshire.”