A FARMER who says he had £4,000 worth of damage caused by callous thieves has expressed concern over rural crime.
Residents have reported thieves targeting several farms in the Llangollen area in recent weeks.
John Davies, from Abbey Farm in Llangollen, says the office of the farm’s caravan park was broken into on January 29.
He is now urging other farmers in the area to sign up to crime prevention service Farm Watch.
“They came and ransacked the office and took a little money that’s not normally left in the office,” said Mr Davies, 61.
“They smashed the security cameras and put one of them out of action. They filled the alarm bell with foam and ripped the alarm off the wall.
“There was about £4,000 worth of damage.”
Mr Davies, who grew up on Abbey Farm, says he knows of another farmer who lost several thousand pounds in a break-in a week after he was targeted and said three other farmers had quad bikes stolen in the same week.
He said: “We employ local people and have been established a long time here and I feel very bitter when people try to rob us.”
Mr Davies says some farmers in the area are already part of the Farm Watch scheme run by North Wales Police, but hopes others will sign up too.
“I’d encourage other farms to take part in it and keep an eye on the area,” he said.
“It’s important everybody works together and is in contact with one another when something suspicious is going on.”
Sandra Baker, clerk to Llantysilio Community Council said councillors had discussed a string of burglaries with police at their meeting this month.
“We’ve had a spate of burglaries around the Horseshoe Pass,” she said. “It tends to be farming equipment they’re taking, there’s been quite a lot of them.”
l NFU mutual has offered tips for farm security.
A spokesman for the insurers said: “People should make sure their quad bikes and power tools are secured in a locked building when they’re not being used.
“Making outbuildings more secure is an effective deterrent and marking your valuable items will make it much easier to trace the criminal and return your property should it ever get stolen.”