CRIMINALS may be “making up for lost time” this year by targetting businesses after a drop in rural crime in Dorset in 2021.

The insurer NFU Mutual has found rural crime cost Dorset an estimated £480,000 last year – a fall of almost 16 per cent from the previous year.

However, insurance claims across South West and the rest of England rose at the end of 2021, and initial indications are that thefts have risen substantially this year.

Vehicles such as Land Rover Defenders were a particular target.

Matt Uren, agent at NFU Mutual in Dorchester, said: “Our latest claims figures warn that rural theft is quickly gathering momentum as criminals make up for time lost over the past two pandemic years. We’re advising rural people to review their security to help prevent crime and disruption.

“With prices of essential farm equipment such as tractors and quads rising fast and the cost of diesel soaring over the past year, there’s little doubt that criminals will be trying to steal from farms.

“We also know that essentials of rural living like heating oil tanks will only become more attractive to thieves as costs rise. A recent poll by NFU Mutual reveals that 89 per cent of respondents believe inflation will lead to an increase in rural crime.”

Superintendent Dean O’Connor of Dorset Police said: “We welcome the reduction of rural crime related insurance claims by 16 per cent last year and have carried out significant investment in our rural crime capability to ensure we’re supporting our rural communities as much as possible.

“We recently more than doubled the number of dedicated officers and staff on the team alongside an investment in upskilling a network of neighbourhood officers across the force area with additional rural crime related skills and knowledge.

“The increase, which is part of the national police officer uplift programme, has enabled us to really focus on our relentless pursuit of criminality with recent prosecutions against four men for poaching offences in North Dorset, and the recovery of almost half a million pounds of suspected stolen plant machinery in a joint operation with Hampshire Constabulary.”

NFU Mutual says the cost of rural crime in the UK was up 40 per cent in the first quarter of this year compared with last year, following a UK-wide drop of 9.3 per cent to £40.5million in 2021.

Criminals continued to target farmyards last year, stealing high-value machinery, with the cost of agricultural vehicle theft reported to NFU Mutual standing at £9m.

Land Rover Defenders were a particular target as second hand values rocketed, with the cost of claims rising 87 per cent to £2.6m across the country.

Although the cost of stolen quad bikes and all-terrain vehicles fell 11 per cent to £2.2m, almost half those thefts took place from September to December, as shipping delays, Covid and Brexit contributed to low supplies and rising demand.

Rustling also became more lucrative, with farm animal thefts estimated at £2.4m in value in 2021.

Rustling has also become more lucrative for criminal gangs, with farm animals worth an estimated £2.4m stolen in 2021.