Farmers united to beat rustlers (From Gazette & Herald)

Farmers united to beat rustlers

FARMERS across northern Ryedale are being urged to join forces in order to crack down on the scourge of cross-border criminals who prey on rural landowners by stealing their animals and machinery.

Helmsley farmers Jane and Stephen Medd, of Cowhouse Bank Farm, Cowhouse Bank, and the town's community officer, PC Ray Thwaites, want to send a message to travelling crooks that the area is not full of easy-pickings by setting up a Farmwatch scheme.

Since November, a total of 13 quad bikes with a combined value of more than £33,500 have been stolen from farm outbuildings, garages and sheds in rural Ryedale.

There have also been a number of reports of sheep rustling - 20 ewes in lamb, worth £2,000, were stolen from East Moors, Helmsley, between March 26 and April 7 and 20 sheep were stolen on May 5 from a different site, also in the Helmsley area. It is believed that about 470 animals have been stolen in the North York Moors area in the last few months.

"Its aim is to halt the recent upsurge in rural crime in the area," said PC Thwaites.

"Farmers work long, arduous days as it is, so even if they can't put any time into patrolling they can join the scheme because its emphasis is a commitment to looking out for their neighbours. We want people to report anything that seems suspicious."

The towns of Kirkbymoorside and Helmsley and their surrounding villages will be split into groups, each organised by a co-ordinator who will be given a police radio.

The groups will carry out patrols of their area, reporting any suspicious activity or behaviour via the radio to police headquarters.

PC Thwaites said a similar scheme in southern Ryedale had been a great success, with several criminals being caught, charged and prosecuted for various offences thanks to the vigilance of those involved in the project.

"It's just to try and see if we can prevent such things as machinery, quad bikes and sheep being stolen by keeping a lookout for suspicious people or vehicles, and make sure everybody has the same idea," said Mr Medd, who runs two farms in the Helmsley area.

A meeting will be held at 7.45pm next Wednesday at Carlton Village Hall to discuss setting up the Farmwatch scheme. Those interested in attending should contact Mrs Medd on 01439 771905.

Updated: 10:54 Wednesday, May 19, 2004