Thames Valley Police has launched an initiative aimed at tackling theft of rural and construction machinery.

A £20,000 fund will be used to back a new “Construction Equipment Security and Registration” (CESAR) Scheme in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire.

The scheme uses new techniques to mark plant and farm machinery, links to a 24-hour database and alerts rural officers to potentially stolen equipment.

To encourage people to use the Cesar scheme Thames Valley Police are offering to pay 20% of the set up cost, meaning vehicles can be registered for £109.

Since December 2009, there have been 116 instances of tractor theft and plant theft in the Thames Valley.