Police recover haul of stolen farm machinery

Police have recovered almost £700,000 worth of stolen property in Cambridgeshire in six months, as rural crime teams step up efforts to tackle theft and organised criminality.

Between April and September, Cambridgeshire’s Rural Crime Action Team (RCAT) recovered 48 stolen vehicles, trailers, items of plant machinery and other assets worth more than £699,000.

The haul included five items of plant machinery valued at £206,000, 13 pick-up vehicles worth almost £217,000, 11 cars worth more than £120,000 and three caravans valued at more than £46,000.

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Officers also made 26 arrests, carried out 12 vehicle pursuits and dealt with 107 driving offences. They seized 39 uninsured vehicles and identified 12 drug possession offences.

Cambridgeshire RCAT leader Sergeant Tom Nuttall said the team’s work extended beyond hare coursing to recovering stolen property, pursuing dangerous offenders and supporting rural communities.

Kent operation

In Kent, a separate operation targeting agricultural machinery and vehicle theft resulted in officers seizing £120,000 worth of property over three days in late September.

Kent Police’s rural task force recovered two cars, two vans, two caravans and a horsebox believed to have been stolen. Officers also found two cars stripped for parts, including a Lexus worth £40,000.

Spot checks at the Port of Dover on 23-24 September, supported by the National Construction and Agriculture Theft Team, uncovered vehicles transporting stripped cars. Further patrols around Ashford, Canterbury and Maidstone followed on 29 September.

No arrests were made during the Kent operation, but driver details were recorded as investigations continued.

Sergeant Ross Haybourne of Kent Police said stolen vehicles and machinery were often transported in larger vehicles to avoid detection and potentially move them out of the UK.

The results come as police warn that rural crime often increases during autumn and winter, when longer hours of darkness can give thieves greater opportunities to target farms and valuable equipment.