A further £200,000 worth of farming gear has been DNA-marked in a bid to combat rural crime.

The Northumberland Partnership Against Rural Crime (NPARC) has previously worked with NFU Mutual and SelectaDNA to implement the marking system.

The total marked has now been brought up to £300,000.

Having already held events in Lucker and Hexham, the next is scheduled for Morpeth on November 1, starting 9.30am.

Farmers and rural residents are invited to Robson & Cowan, Scots Gap, where their all-terrain vehicles (ATVs), trailers, and other farm equipment can be marked with an invisible DNA code.

The code enables police to identify stolen property and return it to the rightful owner.

Officers from the local Rural Policing Team will also provide crime prevention advice and address concerns about rural crime at the event.

Sandra Killeen, Rural Crime Project Manager of Northumbria Police, said: “Now the autumn and winter months have very much arrived, this is exactly the time for those living in the outskirts of the region to review and inventory their farming and agricultural kit – and bring it to us to be marked up."

People interested in attending the DNA marking session in Morpeth should email: ruralnorthumberlandmailbox@northumbria.pnn.police.uk.