Ironically just after the police announced that crime had fallen to a 12 year low in the Holsworthy area there has been a spate of crimes.

Over the past few weeks there has been a significant rise in the number of thefts of farm equipment, chainsaws, strimmers and general equipment found in most people's sheds, along with trailers and quad bikes.

PC John Shepherd from Holsworthy Police Station reported: "Most of these incidents have happened in isolated areas during the hours of darkness, and most of the items stolen did not have any security measures in place to stop them from being removed or tampered with. Also, a number of properties that have been burgled have had dogs present at the time but which have not reacted to prowlers on their territory.

"All these incidents have cost the losers a significant amount of money, time and inconvenience, not to mention the unease caused within our local communities by the mindless acts of one or two cowardly individuals, who would rather skulk around under the cover of darkness, living off the hard work of others that earn an honest living themselves.

"Please do not give these criminals the opportunity to leech off you. Secure your property when you can, make it difficult to remove when you can't and report any suspicious activities to police as soon as possible, particularly vehicles and their registration numbers. Take reasonable precautions to safeguard what is yours.

"The area of Holsworthy is still one of the safest and nicest place to live in the West County, and within it are thousands of decent hardworking people. Unfortunately, as with every area of our country, there are very small groups of people who are not.

"Don't let the minority win, with your help we can reduce crime and hopefully catch these culprits.

"It is essential that any information about suspicious activities in your area be passed to the police. This is used to build an intelligence base to gain an overview of the criminal activities, not only in our area but in our neighbours also. Please be patient, it takes time to build this picture and not all we do is visible, but if you do give us information it will be actioned."

Please contact the police on 08452 777444 or Crime Stoppers on 0800 555111.