Farms are turned into fortresses to beat crime
WHEN Harry Acland patrols his remote Cotswolds estate each morning, he does so safe in the knowledge that his home really is his castle.
The Notgrove Estate, which has been in his family since 1969, is a picturesque swath of traditional farmland perched high on the rolling Gloucestershire hills.
Yet much of it is surrounded not by hedges or ditches you might expect, but by a system of 3ft-high earthworks. The reason?
To keep out crime gangs who target the countryside to burgle homes, raid farm equipment, joy-ride on farmland and steal livestock.
To the horror of farmers, some animals have been butchered on the spot and sold on the black market.
So serious is the situation that Gloucestershire Police has set up a special operation to encourage farms to build mud walls – known as bunds – to help keep out vehicles and protect their land.
Mr Acland decided to protect his farm after a spate of robberies.
He said: ‘More organised gangs are targeting rural areas because they think there are easy pickings.
‘They brazenly move from county to county. When I was offered the chance to have bunds it made a lot of sense.
‘If your neighbour has got them and the criminal gangs will not drive over his land, then you know they will drive over your land.
‘There is clearly a gang operating in the area. In the past three weeks we have been done three times.
‘We have had outbuildings and vehicles broken into, with things stolen.
‘Earlier this month they stole a loader from a local farm and used it to ram-raid the service station cash machine. They had already slashed the tyres on police cars so they could not follow them. You are not dealing with idiots. We have chased them across our fields but it is fun for them and they are amazing drivers.’
The bund scheme, known as Operation Firefly, was developed by PC Ash Weller, who said: ‘Hedgerows, dry stone walls and fences are not really cost effective. The only thing that has stood the test of time is these bunds.’
Gloucestershire farmers have now built nearly seven miles of mud walls with the help of a waste management firm. Police believe criminal gangs have been drawn to the countryside because of the severity of budget cuts in rural police forces.
Illegal hare coursing – also on the rise – is associated with international gangs. As much as £30,000 can be gambled on just one ‘meet’.
It is expected at next week’s National Wildlife Crime Enforcers Conference, officers will suggest that farmers around the UK build bunds to repel criminals.