Tractors worth £2m stolen from Gloucestershire farms

A total of 33 tractors worth £2m have been stolen from farms in Gloucestershire in the last three years, according to police figures.

Farmers and police were holding a conference on Friday to try to tackle rural crime in the county.

Rural crime officer John Palfrey said it was vital that they work together to catch those responsible.

"We've got a great tradition in Gloucestershire of working as a team," he said.

Graham Nichols, a farmer in Kingscote, near Tetbury, said he had power tools stolen and crops damaged when a neighbour's tractor was taken.

He said: "You've got to make arrangements to try and hire another tractor so that costs you money, and it's just the hassle and time factor.

"You're thankful that perhaps you didn't actually catch them doing it."

John Tingey, chairman of Gloucester NFU, said of the conference: "It will be about how we can be working together with the police in order to make sure we understand what information they want in order to give us a response."