POLICE officers in Barnsley have recovered over £100,000 worth of plant machinery after receiving a ‘tip off’ in Wombwell.

Rural crime and the theft of plant machinery has a huge impact on the construction and farming industries and those involved in the theft of machinery are often linked to greater organised criminality in the community.

South Yorkshire Police have vowed to tackle criminality in these communities, making rural crime one of their main policing priorities.

On Monday, officers received a call from a member of the public that they had seen a mini digger hidden in shrubbery near to woodland on Netherwood Road in Wombwell.

They believed the circumstances of the digger being there looked suspicious.

Officers attended and seized the vehicle to return to its rightful owners.

After speaking with the company, it was also found that two further pieces of machinery an excavator and a roller had been stolen overnight.

Officers worked with Mtrack Automatrics, a tracking company and were able to focus their efforts in two further areas of Barnsley and located the machinery, again hidden in woodland. The vehicles were seized and returned to the company and enquiries to find those responsible are ongoing.

Roads Policing Inspector Kieran Frain said: “We are stronger with our communities’ help and I’d like to thank the member of the public who called us to inform us of the machinery.

“If something doesn’t feel right, it often isn’t and we will act on reports of suspicious activity.

“Organised criminals often ‘hide’ equipment to see if the trackers are working, before selling it, or even shipping it abroad to fund their criminality.

“Although the cost of the machinery is high, the impact of that theft on businesses and those in our rural communities is far greater.

“Farmers and companies work hard, and their livelihoods should not be affected by those feeding off criminality.

“Anyone with information that can assist us in finding those responsible is asked to report it to us.”