POLICE have announced a rural crime crackdown after it emerged high-value quad bikes were being stolen to order for foreign gangs.

The announcement comes after a go-kart worth around £8,000 was stolen from a container in Bridge of Weir.

The vehicle, which is orange and yellow in colour, was stolen from the village’s Johnstone Road between 1.20am and 4.15am on Saturday, January 30.

All-terrain vehicles are believed to be a target for thieves who have been found to deliver the machines to clients as far away as Poland, Africa and Afghanistan.

Detectives have deployed forensic marketing kits to deter criminals and make it easier to recover stolen equipment.

The news comes ahead of evidence due to be given by solicitor General Lesley Thomson to the Justice Committee at Holyrood, which is investigating the crime spree.

And from spring this year Langbank in Renfrewshire will be transformed into a “crime prevention village” with forensic marking and signage being mounted to discourage would-be thieves.

There are also plans to expand the Construction and Agricultural Equipment Security Registration (Cesar) scheme, which involves the use of identification plates, radio frequency identification chips and data dots.

Cesar marking leads to equipment being four times less likely to be stolen and six times more likely to be recovered if it is taken.

There are attempts to co-ordinate efforts to thwart thieves by establishing a range of forums, such as rural watch, and encourage victims to report crimes, as some farmers have faced intimidation not to go to the police.

A particular cause for concern among farmers and rural communities is livestock worrying, of which sheep worrying is the most common, which increases during the lambing period between late February and April.

Over the coming months Police Scotland will launch an anti-livestock worrying awareness and enforcement campaign clamping down on offenders who harm or steal often valuable animals. This will now run annually.

One farmer who lost his livestock as a result of sheep worrying, said the loss went well beyond financial harm and called the incident “the most shocking and alarming days of our lives”.

In testimony, the farmer said: “While checking out our sheep we found a few ewes covered in blood, having been gripped in the neck and face.

“As we searched the hill we came across many more, and then came across three dogs, a bullmastiff and two border collies running wild on the 650-acre hill ground.

“The impact on other farmers whose livestock are killed and injured by dogs is immeasurable."

“The pain and trauma those defenceless ewes were put through leaves me distraught.

“The magnitude and catastrophe of the event are immeasurable.”

Rural theft figures for the first nine months of last year found a general downward trend in claims for tractor, quad and livestock loses across Scotland. But that follows a spike over the past four years, particularly for quad bikes and tractors.

But NFU Mutual’s Tim Price said farmers should not be complacent.

He said: “Years of experience working with farmers and police to tackle rural crime has taught us one important message: Thieves don’t go away.”