THE cost of rural crime in the South West of the UK fell by eight per cent to £6.2m last year according to new figures from NFU Mutual, the UK’s leading rural insurer, demonstrating the effectiveness of investment and collaborative efforts against organised and serious crime.

This decrease in cost in the South West of England mirrors the UK-wide impact of rural crime, published in NFU Mutual’s new report, which reveals that it cost the UK an estimated £41.5m in 2025, down from £44.1m the previous year.

Although a co-ordinated response to rural crime has helped to bring the costs down in both the South West and the UK as a whole, organised criminals continued to target the countryside for valuable farming equipment.

The UK-wide cost of the theft of agricultural vehicles, quad bikes and livestock all increased last year. An 18 per cent cost increase in agricultural vehicle theft was also seen in the South West, with quad bikes, excavators and dumpers all particularly targeted by criminals.

Modern farming relies upon specialist vehicles to navigate and maintain the land, but this valuable equipment is also highly attractive to thieves.

In the South West, there was also a promising 6.6 per cent reduction in livestock theft cost, bucking the UK-wide trend, which saw a 30 per cent increase to £4.5m in 2025.

Meanwhile, a concerted effort from farmers, insurers and the police helped to significantly reduce the cost of theft of valuable GPS devices across the UK.

NFU Mutual Rural Affairs Specialist Hannah Binns said: “With proposed policing reforms on the horizon, it is crucial rural crime teams receive fair resources and specialist support to empower local forces to respond quickly to countryside incidents caused by organised and serious criminals.”