On the countryside beat

After a career spent serving his country, Brian Pavey now devotes his time to tracking down poachers and tractor thieves.

Darlington's Countryside Crimewatch is a network of more than 30 local farmers, who keep a close watch on the rural areas beyond the reach of your average beat bobby.

Last week, the group sprung into action when a stolen tractor and cattle feeder worth more than £35,000 were found hidden in a field near Sadberge Village.

Mr Pavey said: "We heard about the thefts from a crimewatch group in the Teesdale area and straight away we texted our members with descriptions of the vehicles. Somebody found one within hours and we called the police.

"I founded the crimewatch about 13 years ago when we had about two or three crimes a day - we don't get that in a week now. That's down to the vigilance of our members. We have been so successful that we have had visits from the home office and had inquiries from police forces from as far away as Devon."

Recently the group's main target has been the poachers who have been coarsing hares on farmland to the north and south of the town.

"One of the biggest problems we face now is people hunting with dogs," said 70-year-old Mr Pavey, the group's Gamekeeper Co-ordinator. "Wildlife is diminishing drastically. The hare is getting towards extinction because around 70,000 are killed each year. If we keep going down that road, the only hares kids will see will be in the classroom.

"We had one member who had to give up rearing sheep because people had been hunting them with dogs and skinning them. People can be so cruel."

Mr Pavey said the group even has midnight stakeouts and can call a police helicopters to put a stop to illegal hunting.

"We often have covert operations with the police at night," he said. "My message to the people who do this kind of thing is - don't. We will catch you."