Police facing calls to beef up rural presence

A leading Northumberland councillor has called on Northumbria Police to commit more resources to rural areas following a spike in quadbike thefts.

- By JAMES ROBINSON

New figures from rural insurer NFU Mutual have revealed reported thefts of the “valuable vehicles” have more than doubled in the past 12 months.

The cost of these quadbike thefts has also soared to £89,000 - an increase of 276% on 2024.

Northumberland County Council’s cabinet member for public safety Coun Gordon Stewart warned the crime had a significant impact on communities.

The Conservative councillor said: “This is yet another example of how rural communities are being negatively impacted by the lack of police resources to tackle such criminals, who enter the land of farmers often during the night and steal the tools of their trade.

“The knock-on effect of this intrusion and thefts is physically, mentally and financially draining for the farmers, families and also the wider community.