Police action hailed a success in the fight against rural thefts

An operation to stamp out a rise in rural crime in Perthshire and Angus has led to a string of arrests.

Additional night patrols, plain-clothes officers and roads policing officers all contributed to a “significant reduction” in offences in the past four weeks.

Police say a dozen men were arrested in connection with incidents across Angus and Highland Perthshire.

The area commander for Angus said tackling the crime spree became the highest priority for the force locally and pledged officers would continue to focus on rural areas.

Chief Inspector David McIntosh revealed the division’s “acquisitive crime group” – formed previously to tackle trends in housebreaking and high value vehicle theft – was appointed to take charge of the initiative, along with Angus Local Policing Area (LPA).

An Angus Rural Watch project was also launched to complement the existing scheme in Perthshire.

Mr McIntosh said: “I can confirm that in the first quarter of this year and into the start of the second, there was a considerable rise in reported rural crimes in Angus.

“The same rise was experienced in neighbouring areas of rural Perthshire. The issue became one of the highest priorities for the division.”

Farmers and gamekeepers were put on red alert following a spate of thefts and several estates at Glenesk suffered break-ins, with the most recent involving the daylight theft of items such as welders, generators and power saws from a farmer’s outbuilding.

“All the arrests were a consequence of police proactivity and are pending prosecution,” said Mr Scott.