FARMERS are turning their properties into fortresses to protect themselves from thieves, despite a drop in the value of thefts, it has been claimed.

A major drive against rural crime has seen the cost of insurance claims drop by one-third over the past year in Scotland but those in the sector claim that thieves are becoming more brazen and farmers more anxious.

All-terrain vehicles (ATVs), quad bikes, livestock and tools are topping thieves’ wish-list, according to NFU Mutual’s annual Rural Crime Report, published today.

Meanwhile the large numbers of lambs being stolen are raising concerns they are for slaughter and processing outside regulated abattoirs, before illegally entering the food chain.

NFU Mutual said rural crime cost Scotland £1.6 million in 2016, which was down 32 per cent from £2.4m in 2015.

The drop is thought to be down to work by the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime, which includes police, land owners, NFU Scotland, Neighbourhood Watch and Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

However, the cost of rural theft across the UK has risen sharply in the first half of 2017.

Martin Malone, NFU Mutual Regional Manager for Scotland, said: “Although the figures for rural crime in Scotland are down significantly, countryside criminals continue to become more brazen and farmers are now having to continually increase security and adopt new ways of protecting their equipment.

“The reduction in the cost of rural crime in Scotland is a tribute to the efforts of farmers to improve security and the Scottish Partnership Against Rural Crime (SPARC), initiative which NFU Mutual funds.

“However, in some parts of Scotland, farmers are having to turn their farmyards into fortresses to protect themselves from repeated thieves who are targeting quads, tractors and power tools.

"They are using tracking devices on tractors, video and infra-red surveillance in their farm yards and even DNA markers to protect sheep from rustlers.”

The thieves are selective. Since Land Rover’s final iconic Defender rolled off the production line in January last year the vehicle has grown in value and has become an even bigger target for thieves. Costs for theft of Defender vehicle claims to NFU Mutual rose to £2.1 million in the UK 2016, an increase of 17 per cent since 2015.

Criminals are also increasingly cloning the identity of tractors to make detection more difficult.

The report reveals that being ‘staked out’ is the biggest worry for country people, followed closely by longer police response times in rural areas, according to the leading rural insurer. Criminals continue to steal despite hr increased security on farms.

Mr Malone added: “The threat of becoming a victim of rural crime, and regular reports of suspicious characters watching farms is causing high levels of anxiety amongst farmers who know their rural location makes them vulnerable to attacks.

“Our advice to people living and working in the countryside is to regularly evaluate your current security measures making improvements where necessary, remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the local police and local farm watch schemes.”

But there are some encouraging signs north of the border.

SPARC was launched in June 2015.

It has enabled Police Scotland to train officers in the investigation and prevention of a range of rural crimes, provided support for vehicle and livestock theft operations and step up activity to prevent livestock worrying by dogs

Since then tractor and quad thefts in Scotland have fallen by over one-third, according to NFU Mutual.

There was a similarly encouraging result in Northern Ireland where a rural crime partnership was also set up with the cost of rural theft dropping by 14.9 per cent last year.

The North East, South West and the East of England were the regions to see a rise in the cost of rural theft in 2016 of 8.7 per cent, 5.6 per cent and 3.7 per cent respectively.