One in 10 trailers advertised for sale and checked on a Europe-wide database of stolen plant and equipment matched stolen items in 2023.
The Equipment Register (TER) reported that 10% of checks on its database against farm trailers/trailers and horseboxes show that they had been stolen.
Treve Jenkyn, data director at TER, said trailer owners are facing increasing obstacles to prevent theft.
“Thieves are using technologies such as drones and trackers to identify trailers to steal, even when they are supposedly stored securely on a farm’s premises,” he said.
“Thieves put their trackers on target trailers to identify location for easy theft. They are also using social media sites like Facebook Marketplace to sell stolen equipment.”
The 2023 NFU Mutual rural crime report found the cost of rural crime rose by 22% in 2022. The report also highlighted that “soaring second-hand markets and demand” had led to a 66% increase in trailer thefts in 2022, totalling £2.9m.
Valerie Isted, who owns Equinity Trailers, has a fleet of 60 Ifor Williams trailers for hire, which are registered with TER.
“This action has thwarted the theft of two of our trailers,” she said.
“Every time someone runs a check against one of our trailers, The Equipment Register contacts us as the registered owners to let us know.
“On one recent occasion we were alerted to a check on one of our Ifor Williams trailers that was being advertised for sale on Facebook Marketplace in Blackpool, some 300 miles away. Although the thieves had caused some damage to the trailer’s chassis, we were delighted to be able to recover our property and prevent it being sold on.”
She added: “Rural crime is on the rise, and it is essential that any would-be purchaser of a horsebox checks to ensure that the trailer is not stolen.
“We would also recommend owners make sure they have their trailers registered pre-loss to maximise the chances of its recovery post theft.”
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