Thieves target farm pick-ups as second-hand vehicle values soar

Rural thieves are targeting farm pick-up trucks with more than twice as many of the workhorses being stolen each month than in 2021, worrying new figures show.

Farmers are being alerted to the new rural crime wave, with advice calling for additional on-farm security measures for pick-ups – even on battered 10-year-old models.

Theft claims dealt with so far this year by NFU Mutual show that older Toyota Hilux and Mitsubishi L200 are the most regularly targeted pick-up models.

The average age of L200s stolen so far in 2022 was 12 years, and 10 years for Hilux vehicles.