Ross MEP, Anthea McIntyre, hosted another successful Herefordshire Conservative Business Forum breakfast meeting this week. The guest speaker was Adrian Blackshaw, candidate for the West Mercia Police & Crime Commissioner elections which will be held on November 15th.

"Many people mistakenly believe that crime is an urban problem," said Mr Blackshaw. In fact, the NFU's 2012 Rural Crime Survey shows a year-on-year growth of six per cent ."

Thefts of tractors has fallen but there has been an increase in the theft of oil/diesel, metal, chemicals, machinery, vehicles and livestock. The value of these thefts is estimated at £52 million per annum.

"If elected as PCC, one of my priorities will be to focus on rural crime and to work with local communities and organisations to help reverse the growth in rural crime. Local knowledge is invaluable and I urge farmers, landowners and the whole rural community to engage with the police on a partnership basis to tackle this problem ," Mr Blackshaw concluded.

Miss McIntyre commented: "Too often the problems that face rural communities are seen as minor when compared to the problems of large, urban, areas. The fact is that the theft of a piece of farm equipment can lead to the farmer missing the opportunity to plant or harvest a crop and so the loss is far greater than just the cost of replacing the piece of equipment. It is vital that we tackle the issue of rural crime locally, nationally and at a European level."