Forty-five farms visited, vehicles stop checked and suspected hare coursers dealt with during rural crime operation.

Almost 20 Cleveland Police officers, supported by their rural volunteer colleagues, took part in another regional Operation Checkpoint last week.

The rural crime operation, which was co-ordinated by our colleagues at Northumbria Police, saw high visibility patrols (both foot and vehicle) visit 45 farms as part of the engagement and reassurance activity.

The enforcement phase which ran alongside it saw officers stopping two vehicles of interest as well as dealing with a road traffic collision.  And enquiries are underway after three vehicles made off from police in East Cleveland

Two men were given community protection warning notices in relation to hare coursing.

Shift start times were staggered so that officers were able to provide 14 hours of cover for Op Checkpoint and this allowed plenty of time for visits to several ASB hot spot areas where nuisance bikes and poaching activity had been reported.

Happily these areas were unusually quiet - we  believe this could be because police have recently seized a large number of  motorbikes and quads across the force area.

Once again we urge the public to keep providing information on who is using these machines and where they’re being stored so we can continue to take appropriate action.

You can report to Cleveland Police online via our website, phone 101 or use the COPA app.

If you’d rather remain anonymous you can also pass information to independent charity www.crimestoppers-uk.org or phone them on 0800 555 111.

We are pleased to report that officers responded to every rural crime incident reported to us during the operation and we hope this will reassure our rural residents, businesses and visitors that Cleveland Police will continue to do everything possible to keep them safe.

And if you live or work in our rural areas, why not join our rural watch scheme: Rural Watch | Cleveland Police