A dedicated rural crime team has been officially launched by Cumbria Police to better protect the county's farming communities.

The move was announced to coincide with Rural Crime Action Week across the country.

Officers in the team will be experienced in rural policing, having previously worked closely with small communities to better understand what their needs are.

In a statement, the new organisation said: "Some of us are from farming families, and we all live in the rural areas of Cumbria.

"We have been researching best practice from successful rural crime teams both locally and further afield to adopt the best methods of making Cumbria a hostile environment for criminals."

As part of 'Operation Lantern', the team will be making appearances at marts throughout the week, as well as engaging in preventative visits and 'targeted activity'.