CUMBRIAN sheep farmers are being targeted as part of an unprecedented increase in livestock thefts.

A rural crime report, due out next week, is expected to show a worrying rise in sheep and cattle rustling throughout the UK over the past year.

Cumbria and Lancashire are two of the areas consistently being targeted by rural crime gangs.

Two Lakeland farms are the latest victims in Cumbria with more than 160 sheep stolen.

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And one victim is pinning the blame on fellow farmers for stealing from his flock.

A rural crime report by farm insurer NFU Mutual, due out next week, is expected to show the cost of livestock thefts has risen from £2.2m to £2.4m over the past year.

The true cost could be much higher as livestock farmers do not always have their animals insured or, if they do, decline to claim when thefts occur.

The National Sheep Association has put the rising number of thefts down to thieves being encouraged by record lamb prices.

One targeted farmer, Pip Simpson of Troutbeck, said he blamed other farmers for the rustling and that he had been left 'absolutely gutted' by the thefts.

Over the past month, he has lost 100 sheep - 40 ewes and 60 lambs - despite employing the latest hi-tech system to protect them and earlier this year, 14 of his sheep were stolen.

Rustlers have also struck in Cockermouth in the last fortnight, stealing 63 sheep from a field in Bridekirk in two separate raids.

Mr Simpson made national headlines three years ago when he dyed his flock bright orange to deter thieves. However, this year he employed a different security tactic - the TecTracer system, which ingrains thousands of coded markers into a sheep’s fleece, 'marking' them with a unique identifying code.

This did not deter the thieves, although it would make tracing the sheep easier if they were intercepted before being slaughtered.

Mr Simpson said: "I'm absolutely gutted. I don't know why I'm being targeted. It must be somebody who has acquired local knowledge and been able to see where I am at any time and what I'm doing.

"I've thought all along that it's a farmer who is doing this. It has to be someone with the knowledge and the tools to do the job.

"A farmer thieving from another farmer, that's what makes it more upsetting."

Mr Simpson said he decided not to dye his sheep this time because the weather was too wet at the time he would usually have done it.

"I now regret not doing so," he said. "It might have put the thieves off.

"I would appeal to anyone, particularly in the farming community, who has any information to help catch these thieves to come forward. I'm considering offering a substantial reward for the return of my sheep."

Phil Stocker, chief executive of the National Sheep Association, said: "The idea of farmer on farmer theft is particularly concerning, and I would encourage anyone involved in this sort of offence to consider how damaging the theft of stock would be if it happened to them.”

“Sheep theft is an ongoing problem in rural areas, particularly when the sheep price is high.

"NSA urges everyone within rural communities to be alert to unusual movements, such as unfamiliar vehicles and activity at odd times of the day. Most farmers would rather be questioned when carrying out a legitimate activity than find no one challenged a potential thief and sheep disappeared.

"Farm watch schemes and rural crime initiatives have a role to play, as do steps taken on individual farms to deter thieves and identify livestock.

"It is also important to report every incident to the police, as all types of rural crime are under-reported and it is only through reporting that the authorities can build a bigger picture and see that this area needs more focus."