Cost of Defender theft rockets

Insurer NFU Mutual reported this week that, after the lockdown lull, Defender thefts have increased by 34% in 2021, while the actual cost of insurance claims has rocketed by 87%, with £2.6million in cars and parts being stolen from countryside communities and businesses.

The Mutual's Rebecca Davidson said: “We’ve been insuring Land Rovers since they first appeared on British farms, and their iconic status makes these vehicles a regular target for both opportunistic thieves and organised criminal gangs.

“From trusted farm vehicles to coveted collectors’ pieces, Defenders have universal appeal. With older models retaining their vintage value and newer used cars soaring in price, thieves are scouring the countryside for Land Rovers, as well as dismantling them for parts.

“We know that when prices go up, thieves are quick to cash in and the decrease in rural theft that we saw over lockdown is well and truly over."

Read more: Rural crime is back with a vengeance

DC Chris Piggott of the National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service said: “We are particularly concerned that the older Land Rover Defender models, the workhorses which are so important to farmers’ everyday activity, are at risk because of a lack of modern security systems.

“Owners should therefore fortify their vehicles as much as possible, using a combination of measures such as immobilisers, tracking devices and pedal and steering wheel locks.

“It’s also common to see vehicles stripped for parts in situ, but good site security and simple, cost effective measures can make life difficult enough for thieves for them to abandon their attempts.”

Dairy and arable farmer in Staffordshire, Matthew Weaver, who had previously been targeted by thieves, installed CCTV cameras and improved the security at the gate to his farmyard.

However, his Land Rover Defender was parked right underneath one of these CCTV cameras when a group of thieves broke into his farmyard and stripped the bonnet and doors from the vehicle.

“They were brazen and didn’t seem to care that they were in full sight of the CCTV,” said Matthew. “I have a video in high definition of the Defender being casually stripped for parts while I slept in the house. They knew exactly how to remove each part so they clearly planned the job.

“The same thing happened to others in our area within a day or two of my theft. I think these parts are being targeted because they are hard to come by at the moment."

At St Agnes in Cornwall, thieves managed to bypass an alarm and steering lock to steal Stephen Murgatroyd’s Defender from the driveway of his Cornish home, before using it in an attempted cashpoint raid.

They took it in the early hours without alerting the 65-year-old, or his neighbours, and he only found out the vehicle had gone when a policeman friend rang him to say it had been discovered elsewhere.

“Where I usually park, it would have been hidden by trees, but I had left it further down the driveway as I had been painting the house that week, so the thieves would have seen it from the road," said Mr Murgatroyd.

“I couldn’t believe it. I don’t know how they managed to do it without disturbing us or any of our neighbours.”

After Stephen’s Defender was later captured on CCTV when it was used in the attempted cashpoint raid in a nearby seaside town, the thieves dumped it.

During a walk with his wife and daughter just hours after the theft, Stephen found his tool box and other possessions from the Land Rover dumped in a hedge, just 400 yards from his house.

He added: “That was what hurt me more than anything. We were burgled a number of years ago and that same emotion came back. It’s very unpleasant and can have such an impact on your life, but the thieves don’t think about that.”