Criminals targeting rural Kent now have direct links to drugs and weapons, a new report has highlighted.

While fly-tipping is the number one issue among countryside communities, Kent Police has shone a light on concerning developments in the way criminals now operate.

A respected lobbying group on behalf of rural landowners, the Country Land and Business Association (CLA) said "dangerous" gangs are inflicting “misery” on the county.

The Kent Police study received responses from almost 1,000 people and the findings will inform the force's renewed rural crime strategy.

The top issues raised were: fly-tipping (829); antisocial behaviour (629); farm theft (machinery) (629); off-roading vehicles (612); livestock offences; fuel theft (439) and wildlife crime (412).

But a recent document presented to the Kent Police and Crime Commissioner cited the example of a farm theft of personal items from a pick-up

It was passed to the Rural Task Force (RTF) and the Audi car involved car was later traced and stopped.

The police report stated: "The female from the vehicle was detained but the driver was not traced on the day; a search of the vehicle resulted in two machetes, drugs and cash being seized. The driver has since been identified and is now wanted for an outstanding aggravated burglary."

CLA South East Regional Director Tim Bamford said: “Incidents such as these are extremely worrying and highlight how rural crime has a massive impact on farms, businesses and communities across Kent.

“Anyone who thinks of rural crime as minor or small-scale is sadly mistaken, with dangerous organised gangs operating across the county inflicting misery, financial loss and distress on victims.

“The CLA urges victims to report all incidents to allow police to build-up an accurate scale of the problem and resource it appropriately.”

The CLA says that rural theft in Kent is among the highest in the country, costing farmers almost £2 million last year alone.

Kent currently sits fifth out of all counties in England for the highest cost of rural crime, with farmers losing £1.9m worth of equipment in 2022.

Earlier this year, it was revealed that criminal gangs and sometimes lone opportunists are using drones to seek out potential victims, particularly to steal high value farm machinery and livestock.

The flying cameras are also sent up to track behaviour patterns of targets.

The rising scale of the problem was highlighted by the National Farmers' Union which last week reported the cost of rural theft soared by 22% last year, with criminals using drones to identify potential targets.

There is now a massive market abroad for stolen farm machinery from the UK and much smaller items of kit, such as GPS, is also easily sold on.

In the NFU Mutal 2023 Rural Crime Report, the insurer revealed rural crime cost the UK an estimated £49.5m in 2022, up from £40.5m the previous year.

Hannah Binns, rural affairs specialist at NFU Mutual, said: “Rural theft is changing. It is not only opportunist thieves travelling a few miles, we are now seeing internationally organised criminal activity.

“These gangs target high-value farm machinery and GPS kits because they can be sold all over the world."

RTF Sgt Darren Walshaw said: "We work closely with partner agencies such as the National Farmers Union, the Environment Agency and RSPCA to build a clear picture of rural crime in Kent and organise a number of operations based on the seasonal pattern of offending.

"Typical rural crimes reported to police include theft, fly-tipping, hare coursing and poaching and rural officers attend regular regional and national meetings to share expertise and good practice with other forces."

Kent Police and Crime Commissioner Matthew Scott said Kent's recently-appointed Chief Constable Tim Smith had assured him more officers had been assigned to rural crime.

He added: “The theft of equipment in rural areas can be a particularly harmful crime as it has consequences for businesses and the wider rural economy.

“I am pleased our Chief Constable has acted and listened to rural communities and made rural crime a priority within his control strategy. He has also expanded the specialist rural crime task force to provide an even better response to those communities."