North Yorkshire Police’s Rural Taskforce set up a mobile crime-prevention unit in Leyburn Market Place this morning to help local farmers protect valuable equipment against cross-border thieves.
Officers are using synthetic DNA marking kits and microchips to traceably tag quad bikes, trailers, and power tools, making them significantly harder for criminal networks to sell on.
The initiative follows recent regional crime warnings, with police advising farmholders across Wensleydale to keep security equipment updated ahead of the busy harvest season.