Rural crime: Tractors and livestock taken as cost up in Wales

Rural crime cost Welsh businesses £2.6m last year as organised gangs targeted machinery and livestock, an insurance company has said.

NFU Mutual's annual rural crime report said the cost rose 11.1% in 2019, compared to 2018 - higher than the average UK rise of 8.8%.

Across the UK, rural crime cost £54m - an increase of nearly 9%.

There are fears that incidents could escalate when the economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic is felt.

The report said high-value tractors, quad bikes and large numbers of livestock had been targeted.

Expensive tractors are being exported and sold in rich countries, the insurer said, while older models are being shipped to poorer countries.

While crime generally decreased during the initial lockdown period earlier this year, NFU Mutual said there were fears rural crime could now escalate.

Manager for Wales, Owen Suckley, said: "Rural crime is like a wave as organised criminality spreads through our farms and villages, 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.

"As well as the financial cost, there's a serious effect on the mental well-being of people living in rural and often isolated areas.

"There are fears that the impact will be felt harder this year as farmers have been working flat-out to feed the nation and many rural communities have been put under additional pressure by the challenges brought by Covid-19."

Chris Alford, who farms in the Brecon area, has previously had vehicles and machinery stolen, and more recently, a solar-powered fence charger.

He said: "I'd only had the fence energiser for two weeks before it was taken. A brand new piece of solar-powered kit that obviously looked expensive.

"People can so easily search the value of things on their phones now that even specialist items like this can be identified as a payday by a passer-by.

"The energiser was worth a couple of hundred pounds, which might not seem like much, but the effect of rural crime goes so much deeper than the monetary costs."

He added: "Then there's the emotional impact. Once you've stopped feeling angry, it's actually gut-wrenching. You can write-off the day you find you've fallen victim to crime. In the past, when I've had larger things like vehicles stolen, it's affected me for weeks.

"It plays on your mind and makes it hard to concentrate on anything else.

"The thought of a stranger being on your property, and stealing from you, can make you feel paranoid, with a voice in your head telling you that they'll be back to steal again. You find yourself making business decisions based on what will make you least attractive to repeat theft."