A RED Ford Ranger was reported on Friday, January 31, coming onto a farm in the Launceston area with the driver and passenger saying they were looking for scrap metal, batteries etcetera. The two men said they were from Salisbury.

A Devon and Cornwall Police spokesperson said the vehicle is known to police in connection with thefts from rural locations. They could reappear anywhere in Devon and Cornwall.

Offering advice, the spokesperson said: “You now have an excellent reason and opportunity to have a review of your farm security and be able to justify any investment in tightening it up that you feel may be appropriate.

“We quite often find that thefts from farms come within a few weeks of visits like this; they were casing the place and may come back for anything that they have seen. Burglaries and thefts in urban areas had been on the decline, due to widespread implementation of CCTV and domestic security improvements like uPVC doors and windows. Thieves have moved out to rural areas where CCTV and security has not yet been implemented. This has been proving crippling for farms in the home counties, where the trend has hit first. We are now seeing more and more farms implementing CCTV for this reason, which they have deployed to also give them the ability to monitor stock, giving a double benefit.

“The first thing to do, if you have not done so already, may be to put up signs wherever you can stating that CCTV is in operation. This is free! You can print them yourself from the internet. You may also want to get some £2 dummy cameras and put some around while you consider any other work you want to do. Also, park all your small vehicles and removable items inside for the next few weeks, with something big across the doors. Consider hydraulic locks for your tractors. Do all the things that you can do to make it harder for the criminal; lock gates and leave security lights on etcetera.”

If anyone has any information regarding the red Ford Ranger they should call 101 or report it online to [email protected]