DOUGLAS MACSKIMMING
RURAL CRIME is a blight on the Scottish countryside that costs in the region of £2million every year.
Farms are the number one target for thieves, often stealing quad bikes and farm machinery to order.
Another huge problem is the theft of metal from overhead power lines and pylons – a crime which can in some cases lead to the criminal’s death.
In response, NFU Scotland, NFU Mutual, Police Scotland and other stakeholders are working hard to make the countryside a safer place to live and work, as evidenced when more than 50 Ayrshire farmers attended the recent crime prevention and safety event hosted by farmer Alan Kerr, who has taken steps to make things as secure as he can on his Low Dallars Farm, at Hurlford, Kilmarnock
The group heard about the local Rural Watch scheme, GPS vehicle trackers, property marking kits, and other measures that can be undertaken to prevent break ins, including smoke generating alarms. The group also saw the CCTV system already installed by Mr Kerr.
NFUS regional manager and event organiser Christine Cuthbertson said: “Rural crime is a blight on the Scottish countryside that costs in excess of £2 million every year. Being vigilant and reporting suspicious activity and adopting some of the simple security precautions demonstrated at this event will make life more difficult for would be thieves.
“We were delighted to bring together experts from Police Scotland, NFU Mutual, Scottish Power, the Fire Prevention Unit and East Ayrshire Council along with several commercial companies demonstrating some excellent crime prevention products.
“All were very approachable and gave top notch practical, low cost tips for preventing thefts and crime on farms and rural areas.”
With reference to thefst from the rural electricity grid infrastructure, SP Energy Networks district general manager for Ayrshire and Clyde South Graham Campbell said: “It is so rewarding to have an opportunity to raise awareness amongst agricultural communities of the risks posed by metal theft and to get the chance to demonstrate the dangers associated with working near overhead lines.
“Metal theft is a particularly hot topic in Ayrshire, where around 30 thefts have been recorded this summer, the highest level across any of our network areas,” he revealed.
“The criminals show a complete disregard for local communities. They are all too aware that their actions can cause fires in nearby properties, extended power cuts and also increase risks for passers-by and our engineers. They also take huge risks with their own safety. One wrong move in the vicinity of 11,000 volts of electricity can be fatal.
“We are continuing to work closely with NFU Scotland and Police Scotland across our network areas, and would encourage residents to report any suspicious behaviour near power lines to our team on our emergency phone line, 0800 092 9290.
“The hotline is open 24-hours a day, and we are happy to pay up to £10,000 for information that leads to a conviction,” he added.
For in-depth news and views on Scottish agriculture, see this Friday’s issue of The Scottish Farmer or visit www.thescottishfarmer.co.uk
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here