Northumbria poaching offences fall by 50% after team set up

Northumbria Police works with people living in rural areas who share information on suspicious behaviour

Police say the number of poaching offences have halved in the two-and-a-half years since a dedicated team was set up.

Northumbria's rural policing team aims to prevent and tackle thefts, along with wildlife and poaching offences.

They are helped by a network of more than 50 volunteers who contact officers if they see anything suspicious.

Last year the number of reported poaching offences was recorded as 312 compared to 616 reported in 2020-21.

Equipment and weapons have been seized by police investigating rural crime

In November the rural unit reported it had recovered £1m of stolen goods including a number of vehicles stolen in the countryside and recovered in Newcastle.

Insp Garry Neill said: "A huge amount of work has been carried out by the whole team, our partners and volunteers over the last two-and-a-half years and these figures are testament to that.

"We are passionate about protecting those who live in the most remote areas of Northumberland and we know the impact that rural crime has on these communities."

He added the force would continue to target poaching as a "priority", saying offenders left behind a trail of "destruction", damaging land and using dogs to "indiscriminately kill wildlife".