RURAL insurer NFU Mutual reveals that rural crime cost Wiltshire an estimated £750,000 in 2021, a fall of 16 per cent from the previous year.

However, claims indications show a rise in the cost of rural crime towards the end of 2021 in both the South West and in England as a whole.

Initial indications from the insurer also reveal the first quarter of 2022 has seen thieves making up for time lost over the pandemic, with UK costs over 40 per cent higher than the same period last year.

The surge follows a UK-wide drop of 9.3 per cent to £40.5m in 2021.

NFU published its 2022 Rural Crime Report today, August 2.

Last year, well-organised criminals continued to plague farmyards stealing high-value farm machinery as the UK cost of agricultural vehicle theft reported to NFU Mutual remained at over £9m.

Land Rover Defender owners battled a barrage of crime as the rocketing value of second-hand cars and replacement parts saw thieves stealing the iconic British 4x4 vehicles and stripping them down, with the cost of claims shooting up by 87 per cent to £2.6m nationally.

And although NFU Mutual saw the cost of stolen quad bikes and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) fall 11 per cent to £2.2m in 2021, almost half of those thefts took place from September to December.

As shipping delays and the effects of Covid and Brexit contributed to low supply and a rise in demand, thieves turned their sights back to these easily portable, hot-ticket items to capitalise on growing waiting lists and soaring market values.

Rustling has also become more lucrative for criminal gangs, and latest analysis shows farm animals worth an estimated £2.4m were stolen in 2021.

Soaring food prices could mean that livestock theft now increases, raising concerns about food security, animal welfare and people's health due to stolen animals being slaughtered in unhygienic conditions.

The number of fuel theft claims received by NFU Mutual fell from 2020 to 2021, but with record high prices for diesel and heating oil, NFU Mutual claims data from the first half of this year indicates the frequency and cost of fuel theft claims have more than doubled compared to the same period in 2021.

In a new poll of the rural community by NFU Mutual, almost half of respondents (49 per cent) said that fuel theft was now their greatest crime concern.

The latest crime wave has prompted the insurer to issue urgent advice and a series of videos to help farmers take action to protect their property.

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