Police team up to fight back against crime in rural areas

More than 120 vehicles were stopped during Operation Checkpoint in a bid to tackle rural crime, resulting in one arrest, two fixed penalty notices being issued and five vehicles seized, including a quad bike worth thousands of pounds.

This is the fifth year that Operation Checkpoint has taken place and it is a coordinated effort to patrol rural areas and tackle offending which targets those who live and work in the countryside.

Nineteen volunteers and four Special Constables from Northumbria Police were in attendance, helped by resources from the Force’s Neighbourhood Policing Team and Operation Support.

Officers visited farms and landowners and acted on local intelligence to disrupt rural crime alongside their counterparts from Cleveland, Cumbria, Durham, Humberside, Lancashire, Merseyside, North Yorkshire and South Yorkshire.

One man, aged 22, was arrested on suspicion of driving while being disqualified and has been released under investigation.

Inspector Pam Bridges, of Northumbria Police, said: “This was another fantastic team effort and an example of the teamwork involved from all forces to tackle the serious issues around rural crime.

“It sends out a clear message to criminals that this type of crime will not be tolerated, and we will continue to work with our neighbouring forces in the future to clamp down on this kind of offending.

“By working together in this way, as the last few years have shown, we can make our rural areas safer for the future. Well done to everyone involved in the operation.”

The operation also focused on rural wildlife and issues such as poaching.