A group of Rutland residents have launched a campaign to help raise awareness of rural crime in the county and to encourage people to report it to police.

At present the project "Rural Crime Rutland" is just a social media page in its infancy, but within its first month, it has already attracted some 700 followers.

The group's Chris Collins told Nub News: "Our aim is to help people who turn to social media for crime related issues report them to the proper authorities.

"You'll be amazed at the amount of residents who won't think to report suspicious behaviour on 101 but instead use social media as a tool. We are here to close that divide so the police are aware of residents concerns.

Chris continued: "We are looking to start a Rutland based campaign in the new year on the importance of reporting to 101.

"You'll be amazed at how busy in the first few weeks we have been with a dog theft, numerous reports of suspicious behaviours in Rutland including door to door scammers, people ripping off residents for trades work and general theft of items. We have already assisted numerous residents report their concerns to the police."

Chris added the group is keen to work with local media to help those who prefer traditional media as opposed to social media on the benefits of people reporting crime to police.

"We are already starting to work with the police in sending reports off and hope to establish a good relationship with them to see if the information we gather is helping them."

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The issue of rural crime was raised earlier this year by Rutland MP Alicia Kearns and the National Farmers Union, as previously reported by Nub News.

The NFU said "our rural communities are being hammered by organised crime."

The MP also called for police to give more priority to rural crime. She commented: "This is a crisis in our rural communities, and it must end. But we need resources, and rural people need to be heard and supported. It's time to level up on rural crime."