POLICE are warning people in Ludlow and south Shropshire and in Tenbury and the Teme Valley that the ‘workhorse of the countryside’ is a target for thieves.

The Land Rover Defender is a ‘must have’ vehicle for many farmers and people living in rural areas.

But this kind of vehicle is also on the targets for thieves and when they cannot take the Land Rover they will often remove parts for the second hand market.

Police are suggesting that people look at security including the possibility of fitting tracker devises and other anti-theft measures.

More than two million Land Rover Defenders have been built since the first one rolled off the production line in 1948 and it is estimated that 70 per cent of them are still in working use.

However, their value could be set to increase as production of the iconic ‘toolbox on wheels’ has now come to an end.