IN a vast rural area such as North Devon, theft of agricultural equipment, particularly quad bikes, is a constant struggle for the local police.

Quad bikes, machinery, tools and even livestock can be subject to theft from farms across the area.

In a bid to crack down on those travelling to North Devon to carry out these thefts, police from Ilfracombe, Lynton and South Molton conducted a swoop on the A361 North Devon Link Road, using an Automatic Number Plate Reader (ANPR) to hail down suspect vehicles.

Ilfracombe PC Mike Warriner, who was co-ordinating the operation, said: "We are targeting those who are using the A361 corridor to target rural areas.

"From what we know, their plan is to move into the area during the day, stay overnight, lay low for the day and then go out of the area with the rest of the rush-hour traffic."

The 10-man force located themselves at Moortown Cross near Knowstone where any vehicles capable of ferrying large agricultural equipment were pulled over.

Those stopped included white vans, range rovers, land rovers and larger lorries. Officers then quizzed the drivers as to where they were travelling, before explaining what they were doing and conducting a search of the vehicle.

Officers say the level of quad bike thefts varies from year-to-year and occur in a sporadic nature.

And it is this unpredictability which makes the culprits hard to catch, says Ilfracombe sergeant Ian Dawson.

He said: "We know they mainly come into the area between 3pm and 7pm and we know they also like to come midweek.

"So it is just a case of doing this when we can. But even if we don't make any arrests, operations like this always give us intelligence as to who is using which vehicles."

Officers said the thieves involved are not always the same, but they are believed to be part of a larger group of culprits from upcountry.

They also use the Link Road to spread themselves across large areas, ranging from Holsworthy — where there was a quad bike theft just a few weeks ago — to near Tiverton.

And because the thefts also occur in Somerset, a similar operation was being carried out at the same time in Simonsbath, by Avon and Somerset police.

Between the two forces, 53 vehicles were stopped and checked.

PC Warriner said: "Hopefully it will get out the message that Devon and Cornwall will not be an area they can come into.

"It shows we are doing something to stop criminals."

No arrests were made on the day but officers said the operation is a good chance to remind country dwellers to be vigilant with their property.

This including locking agricultural buildings and remembering to remove keys from the ignition of farm vehicles, both of which can reduce the chance of theft.