Rural residents and workers are being encouraged to use an online reporting form to alert police to any suspicious or criminal activity in their area.

Northamptonshire Police’s rural crime team, whose remit includes wildlife and heritage crime, wants to hear from people about anything which strikes them as out of the ordinary.

PC Abbey Anstead said: “We always want to hear about incidents, and our online reporting form is a really quick and easy way to tell us about non-emergency crime and suspicious activity.

“If you’re a victim of crime or see something that doesn’t seem right, follow your gut instinct and report it to us, because we need the information you have – you are the eyes and ears of your community.

“Don’t worry that you’re wasting our time. No matter how small an incident, we need to know about it so we have an accurate picture of rural criminal activity to help us take targeted action against it.”

The rural crime team is especially keen to encourage people to be aware of and report wildlife-related crime.

PC Anstead said: “Even a small piece of information helps build a bigger picture. Completing the online reporting form only takes a few minutes, and the information provided really does help us better serve our rural communities and protect people and wildlife from harm.”

Report crime and suspicious activity by filling out the online reporting form here

https://www.northants.police.uk/webform/online-crime-reporting

or call 101. In an emergency, dial 999. Information can also be shared anonymously with Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555111.