No-one charged in 98% of Lincolnshire's farm thefts

• Report by Natalie Higgins

Less than 2% of thefts from farms in Lincolnshire in the last five years resulted in anyone being charged, figures obtained by ITV Calendar show.

A freedom of information request to Lincolnshire Police showed there were 1,373 reported thefts from farms in the county between 2019 and 2023.

In the same period, there were just 47 arrests and 19 charges.

However, under-reporting means the true scale of the problem is likely to be much bigger.

Adam Duguid, who runs Home Farm Dairy in at Market Rasen, has had tools and machinery stolen from his premises several times.

"A truck costs around £20,000, a GPS is around £10-£15,000 to replace. But the main impact is not how much it costs to replace," he said.

"It's the downtime you experience - you have to wait months to get a replacement for the kit that's been stolen. In the intervening time you can't use the equipment you need to do your job."

On the same day that Calendar filmed with Mr Duguid, he had a £20,000 tractor stolen.

"The feeling that someone has broken onto your property and taken things that belong to you is very frustrating," he said.

Mr Duguid has spent thousands of pounds installing CCTV, extra fencing and has hired a rapid-response security team.

He said: "We've installed more fencing so they have more physical barriers to get through. We have CCTV all over the farm, but people wear balaclavas and conceal their faces. They're quite brazen about it."

Union NFU estimates the cost of rural crime increased by 4.3% year-on-year in 2023, to £52.8m, as criminal gangs cashed in on continuing high inflation and ready resale markets domestically and overseas.

Speaking in August, vice president Rachel Hallos said: “Rural crime has continued to plague the British countryside over the past year.

"Criminals steal expensive GPS equipment, livestock and high-value farm machinery, while also trespassing on private land and regularly fly-tipping tons of rubbish."Not only does rural crime significantly cost the UK on a national level, but it also has a significant impact personally to those farm businesses and farming families financially and emotionally affected, leaving many rural communities feeling vulnerable and intimidated.”

Lincolnshire Police has a dedicated rural crime team to police an area of more than 2,500 square miles.

They dedicate their time to tackling crimes such as hare coursing and wildlife crime, arson, flytipping, lead theft, theft from farms and rural properties.

Insp Chris Davis, from the team, said: "We know that rural crime and theft has a huge impact on our farming community and we would encourage anyone who has been a victim of rural crime to contact Lincolnshire Police.

"We act on intelligence provided by our communities so the more reports we get, we can then work out which areas are targeted the most and then deploy more officers in that area.

"Quite a lot of what we do is disruptive. So if we can arrest someone, detain them and seize their vehicles, that can also have an impact. While we might not always get charges, quite often the activities we deal with will stop people committing further offences."

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