MP welcomes news that farm crime in Cumbria has dropped by nearly 10%

South Lakes MP Tim Farron has today welcomed the news that burglaries and thefts from farms in Cumbria have dropped by nearly 10 per cent in the first half of this year.

Cumbria Police figures show there were 148 offences involving farms and outbuildings up to the end of June, compared with 164 during the same period in 2010.

Statistics up to the start of September also show a drop in the number of incidents of sheep rustling down from 18 to 14 cases.

Our local figures fly in the face of some regional and national results; recent figures released by NFU Mutual reveal that an estimated 507,906 crimes took place in the British countryside between January and June of this year, an increase of 155 per cent on the previous year.

Commenting, Tim said: "While any level of offences will always be too high, I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the local NFU and Cumbria Police on these figures. Together they have endeavoured to cut rural thefts and these figures are a testament to their hard work."