Rural crime costs come down in Lancashire, says new NFU report
A new report from the National Farmers Union shows the cost of rural crime in Lancashire dropped by 11% last year
The National Farmers Union have published their 2025 annual report, which illustrates how much rural crime cost areas across the UK in 2024.
The data revealed that in the North West rural crime cost the region just under £3m pounds last year.
Quad bikes and all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) remained top targets for thieves.
Despite the high cost for the North West, that figure was a drop of 11% from the previous year of 2023.
In Lancashire alone, the report’s data revealed the cost of rural crime in the region dropped by 13%.
Despite this, it was still one of the regions that suffered the highest costs, with £1m being spent last year.
Farmers in the area are saying rural crime is something they have seen continue to go up increasingly over the past few years.
"Huge mental impact"
Martin Caunce is the director of Brow farm in Ormskirk.
He told Greatest Hits and Hits Radio: "We get we've seen quite a bit of crime really in the area picking up more in the last few years. Machinery that's been a main one, and fuels has been the big one.
"The other one that we've had a lot of has been the satellite navigation on tractors, that's been one that's picked up a lot on the fly tipping as well".
And it’s not just the financial impact that rural crime has on farmers in the area.
Martin added that there is also a huge mental impact that comes with it.
He said: "it’s something that's always there, a lot of the time you are working on your own so you do feel quite isolated and if you do see crime or something like that you do feel, you do wonder whether reporting it is going to have consequences on for other parts of the farm and things like that and its worries that you don’t need".
The NFU has funded first UK livestock theft prevention officer
The Collaboration saw £4.4m worth of stolen agricultural vehicles and machinery seized and recovered across the UK last year.
But the insurer says there is still a long way to go when it comes to continuing to bring the costs of rural crime down.
Hannah Binns is a Rural Affairs Specialist for the NFU, she said: "we know that rural crime is becoming more organsied, serious, and persistent in its nature with thieves pulling out all the stops to get what they want so it's really important that we still work together and tackle this crime".