23/11/2010 01:05 PM
Farmers in North Yorkshire have been installing security fencing in an effort to reduce trespassers broaching onto their land.
However, they are becoming increasingly concerned over a lack of police effort to help them combat the problem, saying that they will have no option but to take law into their own hands if the situation does not improve, Farmers Weekly reports.
"We've said to the chief constable that we could take the law into our hands to protect our property," Derek Cornforth, of Long Plain Farm near Thirsk, told the news provider.
Mr Cornforth said that farmers were being ignored by police, despite criminal activity - mainly poaching - stretching back ten years.
He is concerned that the crimes could become more serious if rural policing isn't effectively implemented.
Explaining that his workshop had been broken into, fuel tanks emptied and machinery damaged, the farmer told the news provider: "The police are reluctant to deal with rural crime and are more concerned with what's happening in the market towns. Everywhere should be policed equally."
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said it was aware of the problems, insisting that rural crime is a "priority".
Earlier this year, the Telegraph quoted Conservative analysis that showed that violent crime in the countryside increased at a faster rate than in towns and cities.
However, they are becoming increasingly concerned over a lack of police effort to help them combat the problem, saying that they will have no option but to take law into their own hands if the situation does not improve, Farmers Weekly reports.
"We've said to the chief constable that we could take the law into our hands to protect our property," Derek Cornforth, of Long Plain Farm near Thirsk, told the news provider.
Mr Cornforth said that farmers were being ignored by police, despite criminal activity - mainly poaching - stretching back ten years.
He is concerned that the crimes could become more serious if rural policing isn't effectively implemented.
Explaining that his workshop had been broken into, fuel tanks emptied and machinery damaged, the farmer told the news provider: "The police are reluctant to deal with rural crime and are more concerned with what's happening in the market towns. Everywhere should be policed equally."
A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said it was aware of the problems, insisting that rural crime is a "priority".
Earlier this year, the Telegraph quoted Conservative analysis that showed that violent crime in the countryside increased at a faster rate than in towns and cities.
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