Thieves have placed ATVs and quad bikes atop their wish-list, as crime in rural areas cost the country over one million pounds, last year.

Despite falling by almost eight per cent in 2015, the cost of rural theft rose sharply in the first half of this year, an NFU mutual study has found.

NFU’s Rural Crime Report said claims for theft had spiked by over 20 per cent this year, raising concerns that a new wave of crime is hitting the countryside.

The news came as Abergavenny’s NFU Mutual branch was burgled, with thieves ransacking the building before running off with cash tins, and charity boxes, last Thursday night.

In another incident, thieves broke into a farm building in Blaenavon over the weekend, before dashing off with a quad bike and two generators worth hundreds of pounds.

Police have said the burglary at Redhouse Farm, happened sometime between 3pm on Friday August 11, and 8pm on Sunday.

A yellow children’s quad bike – a Suzuki 50cc – was stolen along with a silver Honda Generator and a black and red generator.

Referring to the rural crime figures, Aled Jones, of NFU Mutual said, ‘Although the figures for rural crime in Wales 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 country, 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 report reveals that being ‘staked out’ is the biggest worry for country people, followed closely by longer police response times in rural areas.

Mr Jones added, ‘The threat of becoming a victim of rural crime, and regular reports of suspicious characters watching farms is causing high levels of anxiety amongst 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’.

Gwent Police’s farm watch co-ordinator, Allan Mills said, “Farm Watch is a an invaluable tool for us in tackling rural crime and is a perfect example of how engaging with and communicating directly with the public can prevent this type of crime and bring offenders to justice.

“We are one of the only forces to have a scheme that focuses on targeting those who commit rural crime. Since we launched Farm Watch in 2013, we have worked hard to build strong relationships with farmers. Over the past 4 years, the number of members has risen from 80 to over 1,400 and we have seen an overall reduction in the number of rural crimes.”

Officers from Gwent Police said last week that anyone with information regarding the break-in at NFU Mutual should get in touch with them by calling 101.UPDATE: A previous version of this article stated that a laptop was stolen during the burglary concerned. This information has been updated to correct the fact that this was not the case.