A SELBY community has been given a car to patrol their borders and look out for crime.

Volunteers were presented with the rural crime car at Eggborough Police Station on Friday, as part of a £9,000 scheme funded by Selby Community Safety Partnership, Northern Power Grid and the Selby Community Engagement Forum.

Inspector Richard Abbott, of North Yorkshire Police’s Partnership Hub, said: "The new rural crime car will offer an even greater presence in those rural locations and give us even more chance of catching up with criminals who may prey on our rural communities.

"It has always been the case that in isolated rural areas residents play an important role as the police’s eyes and ears. People in isolated communities know their area better than anyone and they know if something is unusual or out of place."

Volunteers who join the scheme will be given intelligence from police and asked to patrol different areas on each shift, reporting to police over their official radios, and supporting ongoing cross-border crime patrols such as Operation Hawk and Operation Jumbo.

All have taken driving skills tests and other training courses to join the scheme, and will be managed by North Yorkshire Police, who will also pay for fuel and vehicle maintenance.

Specific rural crime the team will look out for includes poaching, burglary, farm machinery being stolen and cable theft, which can cause a great deal of disruption for residents and danger to the thieves.

Nigel Walker from Northern Powergrid said: “We work closely with North Yorkshire Police and this new patrol car will play an important role in supporting local rural communities and helping catch the culprits behind this dangerous crime.

"In addition to causing power cuts, thieves who steal from our power network endanger both themselves and local communities as they sometimes leave cables carrying high voltage electricity hanging low in an unsafe condition and within easy reach of people passing by."

Insp Abbott said: "I think this is one of the first in the country, but other areas have used people on foot and horseback. This has taken about a year to get to the launch.

"It's looked at very much as a trial, and if it takes its something we can roll out to other areas of the county. I think it's a fantastic example of partnership working and what we can achieve if we work in collaboration and giving the public some control of what we do and how we do it."