CRIME is soaring in the Scottish countryside with rising numbers of thieves stealing more small items from isolated farms.
CRIME is soaring in the Scottish countryside with rising numbers of thieves stealing more small items from isolated farms.
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JASPER HAMILL
Agricultural thefts rose by 67% last year and cost the Scottish farming industry £1.4 million.
The recession may have inspired thieves to become increasingly opportunistic, taking relatively small items such as power tools.
Rather than carrying out raids on homes, rural thieves target isolated outhouses, barns or sheds where they are unlikely to be detected. They tend to strike in the dead of night, often in the early hours of the morning.
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