POLICE from three forces have joined together to help find better ways to target rural crime.

Cheshire Constabulary, Derbyshire Police and Staffordshire Police have spent the last 12 months working closely together.

The three forces have been sharing information to prevent and detect rural issues which can often see a rise during the winter months.

Crimes including poaching, theft of plants, tools and vehicles such as quad bikes and Land Rover Defenders.

Officers from all three counties are already running an operation to tackle poaching.

They are working alongside gamekeepers and representatives from the Peak District National Park and Ranger services to remove or soften the crossed borders.

Chehire rural crime officer Garry Charnock said: "When a crime occurs in a rural setting, say theft of farm machinery, that there is a huge impact on those affected.

"How do they do their job to pay the bills?

"It is clear that when livestock is stolen, it has not always been given the attention it deserves and we are working hard to change this."

Throughout March, officers from Cheshire Constabulary ran an operation to help prevent and detect the theft of lambs and plant machinery.

Staffordshire and Derbyshire forces also ran similar operations, which officers discussed together.

James Bowler, of Derbyshire Police's Rural Crime Unit, said: "We have been established to provide support and reassurance to our rural community.

"We are striving to work hard to identify and combat rural criminals and will work closely with our partner agencies to achieve this."

All three constabularies are committed to working with and supporting those who live and work in the countryside.

The teams have access to a variety of vehicles and equipment to help police such a challenging environment, including specialist off road vehicles and night vison equipment.

Sergeant Rob Peacock, from Staffordshire Moorlands Neighbourhood Action Team, said: "We wish to send out a clear message that we will not tolerate offenders targeting our rural communities.

Criminals were misguided if they thought travelling between force areas made them untraceable or safe from being identified and convicted.

"We have had several successful convictions over recent weeks with some offenders travelling from as far as North Yorkshire and Leicestershire."

Working together provides an opportunity for officers to share intelligence on criminals and as a result they are able to piece bits of the jigsaw together to identify suspects and disrupt patterns of crime.

Sergeant Rob Simpson, of Cheshire Constabulary, said: "We want to reassure our rural communities that we are all committed to delivering a high standard of policing for them."