Police warning after five quad bikes stolen from Ribble Valley in a week

Over the past seven days, five quad bikes, two trailers and a quantity of stone, plus a break-in at a farm building has been reported to the police.

The locations of these offences are Waddington, Cow Ark, Wiswell, Grindleton, Bolton-by-Bowland, Newsholme, Bashall Eaves, Read and Dunsop Bridge.

Officers are urging farmers and owners of quad bikes to be on their guard and where possible, protect their equipment/vehicles from thieves.

A spokesman for Ribble Valley Police said: "It's clear that we have some very active offenders and likely not all the same offender/s so please be vigilant and consider what security measures you have in place.

"The bike stolen from Grindleton had a tracker fitted and the owner was alerted within minutes that it had moved, which allowed him and police to mobilise and the bike was located and recovered within 30 minutes of it being stolen.

"A dark-coloured 52 plate Connect van has been linked to some of these offences so if you do notice any suspicious vehicles please report them on 101 or 999 if an emergency incident in progress.

"We have got additional resources operating to locate and detain these offenders, but I'm sure you can appreciate given how vast the area is and the range of locations being targeted that us being in the right place at the right time is often luck over judgement."