Farmers in South Derbyshire have been put on safety alert by police after equipment was stolen for ram-raids on ATM cash machines.

In the last three months, two JCB telehandlers have been stolen from Willington and Grange Wood. The machines have then been used in ram raids at a Co-op store in Kings Bromley and a Spar in Stapenhill.

At a Safer Neighbourhood meeting held at Netherseal Village Hall on Wednesday, October 25, PCSO David McMillan said: "Crime and anti-social behaviour across the area has been low for the last three months.

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"On saying that, the crimes that we have seen are serious and we need to see what we can do about them. We have seen JCB telehandlers stolen and then the thieves have gone on to steal ATM machines.

"These crimes are not only devastating to the shop owners, but also to the farmers whose machinery, often worth tens of thousands of pounds, has been taken. We want to do whatever we can to stop these crimes occurring."

Sergent Graham Summers said that three police officers from the force, two of which are ex-farmers, would be concentrating on rural crimes and offering advice to farmers on how they can keep their property safe.

He said: "When it does happen to the farmers it has a big financial impact on their business. It could be worth thousands of pounds for the farmers."

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