A man has been arrested after a farm was targeted by burglars and two agricultural buggies worth £50,000 were stolen.

An investigation was launched shortly after 10.30pm on Wednesday, October 19, after thieves stole two all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) from a farm near Morpeth.

Police were immediately contacted and officers, supported by the Force’s Farmwatch volunteers, and were quickly deployed to the area.

After reports that a silver Audi had been in convoy with the stolen buggies, police

scoured the local area and soon located a vehicle matching its description at a service station near Ashington.

Read more: Shredded tyre, 'measly screw' and child without booster seat - shocking van seized

The driver, a 23-year-old man, was arrested on suspicion of burglary.

A Northumbria Police spokesperson said: "Officers and volunteers weren’t done there, following various lines of intelligence to locate one of the stolen ATVs which had been hidden in bushes in the Ulgham Grange area within a matter of hours.

"Then 12 hours later, as part of their investigation, officers found the second stolen buggy which had been abandoned in bushes near Linton.

"Both vehicles have since been seized and will be returned to their rightful owner. ]

"This was an outstanding team effort in order to retrieve the stolen vehicles and bring a suspect into custody.

"Under the banner of Operation Hawkeye, we are committed to tackling all rural crime in Northumbria in order to protect those who live in our more isolated communities.

"Well done to officers and volunteers in our Rural Policing Team who acted quickly to track the buggies, as well as our amazing Farmwatch volunteers who consistently go above and beyond to help protect our rural communities.

"We are incredibly proud of the Farmwatch scheme which is a network of over 1,300 community members designed to help alert residents across Northumberland to any criminal or suspicious activity, share appeals for information and spread crime prevention advice.

Anyone with information about the thefts is asked to contact police via the ‘Tell Us Something’ page of our website or by calling 101 quoting crime number 124275Q/22. Alternatively, you can email 9135@northumbria.police.uk.

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