An insurance firm is urging farmers and other rural Land Rover Defender owners to take security measures to protect their vehicles.

NFU Mutual advised a mix of traditional and sophisticated electronic security measures, as claims data shows that Defender theft from rural homes, farms and other businesses increased by 34 per cent in 2021, after a slight lull in 2020.

The insurers data suggests that the number of Land Rover Defender thefts is on course to increase again in 2022.

The cost of Defender theft reported to NFU Mutual has also rocketed by 87 per cent, with £2.6 million in cars and parts being stolen from countryside communities and businesses.

Rebecca Davidson, Rural Affairs Specialist at NFU Mutual, said: “We’ve been insuring Land Rovers since they first appeared on British farms, and their iconic status makes these vehicles a regular target for both opportunistic thieves and organised criminal gangs.

“From trusted farm vehicles to coveted collectors’ pieces, Defenders have universal appeal. With older models retaining their vintage value and newer used cars soaring in price, thieves are scouring the countryside for Land Rovers, as well as dismantling them for parts.

“We know that when prices go up, thieves are quick to cash in and the decrease in rural theft that we saw over lockdown is well and truly over."

DC Chris Piggott of NaVCIS (National Vehicle Crime Intelligence Service), said: “We are particularly concerned that the older Land Rover Defender models, the workhorses which are so important to farmers’ everyday activity, are at risk because of a lack of modern security systems.

“Owners should therefore fortify their vehicles as much as possible, using a combination of measures such as immobilisers, tracking devices and pedal and steering wheel locks.

“It’s also common to see vehicles stripped for parts in situ, but good site security and simple, cost effective measures can make life difficult enough for thieves for them to abandon their attempts.”

Matthew Weaver installed CCTV cameras and improved the security at the gate to his farmyard.

His Land Rover Defender, the workhorse he uses every day to navigate his farm, was parked right underneath one of these CCTV cameras when a group of thieves broke into Matthew’s farmyard and stripped the bonnet and doors from the vehicle.

“They were brazen and didn’t seem to care that they were in full sight of the CCTV," he said.

“I have a video in high definition of the Defender being casually stripped for parts while I slept in the house.

"They knew exactly how to remove each part so they clearly planned the job.”

Stephen Murgatroyd said thieves managed to bypass an alarm and steering lock to steal his Defender from the driveway, before using it in an attempted cashpoint raid.

He only found out the vehicle had gone when a policeman friend rang him to say it had been discovered elsewhere.

“When he phoned that morning, he asked me where my Defender was and I told him it was on the driveway," Mr Murgatroyd recalled.

"He said it can’t be, as I’m looking at it while I’m talking to you. Where I usually park, it would have been hidden by trees, but I had left it further down the driveway as I had been painting the house that week, so the thieves would have seen it from the road.

“I couldn’t believe it. I don’t know how they managed to do it without disturbing us or any of our neighbours.”

Stephen said his friend told him that it wasn’t the first to be taken and there had been other attempted thefts of Defenders on the same night.

After Stephen’s Defender was later captured on CCTV when it was used in the attempted cashpoint raid in a nearby seaside town, the thieves dumped it.

While he was pleased to have the vehicle back and get it repaired, the thieves had already dealt him a further blow.

During a walk with his wife and daughter just hours after the theft, Stephen found his tool box and other possessions from the Land Rover dumped in a hedge, just 400 yards from his house.

Stephen added: “That was what hurt me more than anything. We were burgled a number of years ago and that same emotion came back.

"It’s very unpleasant and can have such an impact on your life, but the thieves don’t think about that.”