FARMERS are being warned about the potential threat of thieves by a Crewkerne-based police officer.

Police Community Support Officer Dave Lewis is reminding farmers that their businesses, by their very nature, are open and insecure places and an easy target for criminals.

"With the present economic climate, scrap metal, in fact any metal, has a high value - even five-bar gates are being stolen, endangering the lives of motorists and valuable livestock," he said.

"As fuel increases in price, diesel tanks on farms likely to be targeted, as well as the general motorist. To stop the opportunist thief, we can all take simple precautions.

"Lock the cap to the fuel supply, have a second lock in place if possible. The more barriers you put in place, the less likely you are to fall victim to opportunist thieves."

The police have recently set up Farm-Watch - a proactive scheme to keep farmers advised of potential thieves in the area and to reopen communications with the farming community.

PCSO Lewis added: "The joy of living in rural communities is that we know if something or someone does not really belong there'. If you see something suspicious please report it as such.

"Farmers have always had a community network, talking to each other and helping each other out at busy times and supporting each other in hard times"

"It is my aim, and that of the Neighbourhood Policing Team, to join in with and add to the existing networks. To link the police to the communities they patrol and to make farms as secure as villages, I would ask everyone to be watchful whilst the farmers toil in the fields."

For more details on how to join Farm-Watch contact Anne Porter at Crewkerne Police Station on 0845 456 7000.