Surrey Police has been cracking down on rural crime recently by stopping dozens of cars and making arrests.

On September 6 and 7, the force teamed up with partner agencies to tackle persistent rural crime issues across Surrey. Issues being targeted were vehicle and plant machinery theft, poaching, fly-tipping and road safety for horse riders.

More than 80 vehicles were stopped and five arrests were made in relation to drug driving, supply of drugs, waste disposal offences and poaching. Two people were also arrested for drunk driving and their vehicles seized and a man was charged and remanded for the supply of class A drugs.

Surrey Police rural crime lead, Chief Inspector Chris Tinney, said: “This is the most significant rural crime day of action led by Surrey Police to date, and we are already planning the next.

“The good results we’ve seen only came to our attention because officers and partners were conducting this proactive work and would not have been reported to police otherwise.

“We know that rural crime is often under-reported and that the rural community have felt underserved by the police in the past. My hope is that this targeted day of action sends a message to this community that Surrey Police is dedicated to tackling rural crime across our county.”

Close pass operations were carried out in partnership with the British Horse Society (BHS). There were 21 close passes across the two days with drivers learning more from BHS and a separate poaching investigation is underway.