A HELICOPTER crew high above the skies near Cumnock responded to a tracker alert and a police operation swung into action.

Officers onboard the chopper alerted colleagues on the ground after their sophisticated equipment picked up the activation at 9.30pm on March 12.

It indicated that there may be stolen property at a farm in the Cumnock area and, armed with a search warrant, a unit was dispatched to the scene.

Following the raid, a 48-year-old man was arrested for theft related offences.

Machinery, with an estimated value in excess of £70,000, was allegedly recovered.

Items included a dumper truck, worth around £18,000, taken from the Wishaw area and a mini excavator, valued at £26,000, taken from West Calder - both early this year.

Also a second dumper truck, valued at £12,400 stolen from Strathaven in December 2017 as well as a Land Rover Defender 90 stolen from Haddington, East Lothian in June 2017, valued at £14,000.

Specialist forensic inquiries are ongoing while, following the incident, Safer Communities Officer PC Marshall has issued an urgent warning.

He said: “Items of plant and agricultural machinery are often seen as an easy target for criminals, and can have lucrative resale values.

“I would appeal to anyone operating this type of equipment to be vigilant, and try to secure machinery where possible in a manner that will make it difficult for them to be driven away by thieves.”

“If you are offered machinery for sale, check as carefully as possible on where it has come from, and always ensure that the seller can provide documentation proving ownership.

“If you think you have been offered stolen property, please contact your local policing team by calling 101, where officers will be happy to give advice and guidance”

In this case, the alleged criminal activity was snared by a tracker system, which provides a vehicle’s location when stolen — modern versions can also be GPS enabled.

PC Marshall added: “Construction and Agricultural Equipment Security and Registration (CESAR) marking can also be retro-fitted to vehicles to make them harder to steal.

“The scheme is the only official police and Home Office approved plant and equipment registration scheme.

“It was designed by police officers working in partnership with the construction and agricultural industries to provide police on the street an easy simple and effective way to identify all manners of machinery and equipment.

“The criteria is such that the CESAR database operates on secure systems to the same level as both the police and Home Office systems.”