Farming community 'traumatised' after burglaries

Jonathan Potter had an expensive agricultural vehicle stolen

A Mid Ulster farming community has been left “traumatised” following a string of burglaries.

Several farms in the Dungannon and Aughnacloy areas of County Tyrone have had high-value machinery stolen in recent months.

Jonathan Potter had an expensive agricultural vehicle stolen, as well as essential tools and animal feed taken from his land in Aughnacloy.

"They arrived in my yard at about 1am when we were asleep and were there for about 45 minutes," he said.

"It’s knowing that they were on my property where my family are, that’s the hard part.

"We captured them on CCTV. They came in through the front gate, broke the locks, and pushed it out of the yard while we were asleep."

Jonathan Potter's John Deere Gator vehicle before it was stolen

Several burglaries on farms in the Aughnacloy area took place between 26 September and 11 October.

Mr Potter’s John Deere Gator vehicle was stolen sometime between 21:45 GMT on 10 October and 07:45 on 11 October.

He told BBC News NI that his insurance does not cover the full cost of the machinery.

"It’s been hard on my father; he used it every day, and the price to replace it is a sore point," he added.

"The price of machinery has went through the roof, so we can’t replace it. It’s just not fair."

A still from CCTV footage of the theft of Jonathan Potter's John Deere Gator vehicle

Earlier this year, BBC News NI reported that an organised gang of criminals was targeting farms in Northern Ireland’s northwest.

In January, one farmer spoke out after the theft of 50 lambs at his farm in Clady.

Christine McFlynn is chair of the Mid Ulster Policing and Community Safety Partnership

The cost of rural crime in Northern Ireland in 2024 was an estimated £2m, according to the rural insurer National Farmers Union (NFU) Mutual.

During the last year there were more than 200 agricultural crimes in Northern Ireland.

This includes theft of vehicles, livestock and fuel; dogs attacking farm animals; fly-tipping and illegal waste dumping.

The highest level of agricultural crime was seen in Newry, Mourne & Down, followed by Mid Ulster.

Following a recent spate of thefts involving farm machinery and tools in Mid Ulster, the local Policing and Community Safety Partnership hosted a rural crime information event.

An information event about rural crimes was recently held in County Tyrone

SDLP councillor Christine McFlynn, who is chair of the group, said: "The event was organised to give the community some information and helpful advice because the people of this area are concerned about rural crime and the recent incidents; they're traumatised.

"This is a rural community, and they’re worried not only about intruders stealing their equipment but that they could be physically attacked.

"At the end of the day it’s not only about safety, but it’s about people’s livelihoods. We’ve seen thousands of pounds worth of equipment stolen lately, and they need this equipment to do their jobs and keep their farms running."

The PSNI said it was investigating the recent incidents in Mid Ulster and asked the local community to be vigilant when securing their property in rural areas.