Police in Lincolnshire have recovered more than £520,000 worth of stolen farm machinery and vehicles over the past year, highlighting the scale of organised rural crime affecting farming communities.
Lincolnshire Police said the recoveries were made between May 2024 and May 2025 by the force’s Rural Crime Action Team and included stolen vehicles, plant machinery and trailers taken from across the county.
Inspector Chris Davis, from the force’s Special Operations Unit, told councillors that the recovered items included “around £300,000 of vehicles, £150,000 of plant (farm equipment), [and] £70,000 worth of trailers”. He said many recoveries were made through officers’ detailed knowledge of rural areas.
The recoveries come against a backdrop of heightened rural crime nationally. The latest NFU Mutual Rural Crime Report, published earlier this year, estimated the cost of rural crime across the UK at £44.1 million, with theft of agricultural machinery and plant among the most significant losses.
Police said offenders often conceal stolen machinery before moving it on. Inspector Davis said criminals will “lay them up and wait for any tracking devices and see if the police will come and recover them”, adding that officers aim to act quickly to return equipment to owners.
The type of machinery targeted varies by area. In western parts of Lincolnshire, police are seeing more thefts of smaller items such as ride-on lawn mowers and golf buggies. “What we’re seeing more of at the moment… is more smaller items going,” Inspector Davis said.
In eastern areas, larger machinery is more commonly stolen. “Over the east we’re seeing larger pieces of plant and machinery going like telehandlers and road rollers,” he said.
Police said Boston, South Holland, North Kesteven and South Kesteven are the areas where they have “seen an increase” in farm machinery thefts, alongside break-ins at rural outbuildings. Officers added that machinery theft is often linked to organised crime, including illegal hare coursing.
Police said work is continuing to disrupt organised rural crime groups and urged farmers and rural businesses to report suspicious activity, stressing the importance of community intelligence.
