Farmers are being forced to turn their fields into fortresses to fend off criminals targeting rural communities.

According to new figures released by the NFU rural crime has cost Cumbria and the wider north west of England £2.8m in the last year.

While the number is down year-on-year experts say that rural criminals are still at large and in the first half of 2017 there has been a sharp rise of more than 20 per cent nationally, raising concerns that a new wave of rural crime is hitting the countryside.

Thieves are regularly targeting the county's farms with items such as ATVs, quad bikes, 4X4s and tools topping the criminals' wish list.

Amanda Wallbank, NFU Mutual senior agent in the north west, said: "Although the figures for rural crime in the north west are down, countryside criminals continue to become more brazen and farmers are now having to continually increase security and adopt new ways of protecting their equipment.

"In some parts of the region, farmers are having to turn their farmyards into fortresses to protect themselves from repeated thieves who are targeting quads, tractors and power tools.

"They are using tracking devices on tractors, video and infra-red surveillance in their farm yards and even DNA markers to protect sheep from rustlers."

The figures form part of NFU Mutual’s annual Rural Crime Report, which has been published today (MON).

The report reveals that being "staked out" is the biggest worry for country people, followed closely by longer police response times in rural areas.

Amanda added: "The threat of becoming a victim of rural crime, and regular reports of suspicious characters watching farms is causing high levels of anxiety among farmers who know their rural location makes them vulnerable to attacks.

"Our advice to people living and working in the countryside is to regularly evaluate your current security measures making improvements where necessary, remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the local police and local farm watch schemes."

Forester Charles Miles, who lives at Westward, near Wigton, was the victim of theft in late 2015 when he had a £16,000 wood chipper had been taken from a compound near his home.

"It's a huge problem, but the problem is that it seems to be all fair game," he told the News & Star .

"I lost my chipper for a year and I didn't know if I was going to get it back. It went to court and I got nothing with the thief getting 200 hours of community service."

Cumbria Police says it places a high priority on tackling rural crime, with officers dedicated to dealing with countryside issues.

The force added that it works in partnership with rural communities in general - and the farming community in particular. Through this work it has achieved significant reductions in rural crime in recent years, it reports.

Various schemes, it adds, have helped to deter criminals "as they know these schemes increase the chances of them being caught".

Police regularly work with other neighbouring forces to catch criminals who cross county boundaries. Other forces linking up with Cumbria include Northumbria Police.

The cost of rural crime last year went down by 24 per cent from £3.6m.