A rural crime prevention campaign is being launched this morning.

The initiative is supported by Crimestoppers, Gardaí and the Irish Farmers Association.

It is hoped the campaign will help to raise awareness of farm-related crime and how to prevent it.

IFA Rural Crime Prevention Executive, Colin Connolly, explains how farmers can protect their equipment.

He said: “Machinery first of all, we would ask people to have their machinery marked and secured in a safe manner, especially at this time of year when some machines would be put away after the harvest.

“They need to be put away in a secure environment, things like quads and trailers, need to be parked away, locked up and chained up.”