£400 reward offered to net equipment thieves (From Western Telegraph)

£400 reward offered to net equipment thieves

THE THIEVES who stole thousands of pounds worth of National Trust equipment have a £400 price on their heads.

The Trust has doubled the reward it will pay for the recovery of two trailers and an all-terrain vehicle bike, stolen from a locked compound at the Stackpole Estate.

Essential summer maintenance work on the estate has had to be put on hold until the equipment is either recovered or replaced.

'We are desperate to get the trailers and bike back, there is so much work we can't do without them,' said Ian Bennett, the Trust's head warden for South Pembrokeshire.

The £8,000 theft comes at a time when figures reveal a rise in reported crime in the countryside. Despite Home Office statistics showing that burglary has fallen by 8% this year, reported crime in the countryside has risen by 88% in the last two decades.

There is speculation that this rise is due to increased use of closed circuit television cameras in town centres.

It has been suggested that criminals are now travelling to rural areas specifically to target farms and country properties which are arguably low on security.

However, homes and businesses in rural Pembrokeshire are substantially less at risk of crime than those in urban areas. Latest figures show that 2.6% of households in rural areas are victims of burglary compared to 4.8% in urban locations.

Those figures offer little comfort to the National Trust, but it is hopeful that the £400 reward will encourage someone to come forward.

Both missing trailers - an Ivor Williams and a C.L.H. - have wire mesh ramps and the Yamaha Big Bear bike is green with panniers on the front and back.

Anyone with any information can contact the National Trust on 01646 661359 or Pembroke Dock Police on 01646 682121. Crimestoppers can also be contacted anonymously on 0800 555111.