More than 200 rural crimes 'extremely worrying'
John MoffattA councillor says reports of more than 200 crimes in rural areas are extremely worrying.
According to data from Northumbria Police's public alerts, 211 reports have been made between 1 January and 11 October 2026 relating to farming, forestry and wildlife crimes in Northumberland.
Rothbury councillor Steven Bridgett has mapped the reports and said crime "disrupted livelihoods" and victims "feared" offenders would return. Farmer John Moffatt said nothing had been taken from his farm but men in balaclavas loitering at night had caused "unrest at lambing".
Northumbria Police said it was "committed to tackling rural crime and understand the devastating impact it had on people's livelihoods".
Reports show 50 quad bike/all terrain vehicle (ATV) thefts and attempts, 76 poaching and wildlife reports, 26 reports each for vehicle thefts and burglaries, and 13 for fuel theft.
Bridgett described the situation as an "epidemic at crisis point", and believes the problem is even worse than the figures show.
He said: "Behind those dots are farmers, families and businesses dealing with lost equipment, damaged property.
"Residents should not have to piece together individual alerts to understand what is happening across their county.
"Northumbria Police should publish a fuller, accessible picture of rural crime, alongside clear information about the resources being put into tackling it."
Steven BridgettMoffatt, of Cambo, said there had been several instances when balaclava-clad men had spent at least half-an-hour on his farm.
"It causes a lot of unrest at lambing and calving time as you need to go out and you don't know who's going to be around.
"You're wondering, when are they coming back?"
He said nothing had been taken from his farm, but neighbours had had quad bikes stolen.
He also said he has spent thousands on security cameras and reinforced steel doors bit it "It doesn't put them off".
Councillor Steven BridgettNorthumbria Police has not disclosed how much resource is dedicated to rural areas, but Ch Insp Jonathan Caisley said police worked with residents, community groups and businesses to provide support.
He said: "We also actively look to establish links between crimes and then treat them as such when we investigate, so that crimes are not considered in isolation.
"As part of this activity we target supply chains in partnership with other force areas where there is evidence to do so."
Caisley also called on victims of crime to contact the police at the earliest opportunity.
"Targeting our rural areas will not be tolerated, and we will continue to work with our neighbouring forces and partners to clamp down on this kind of offending," he said.
