A man who had his £3,500 quad bike stolen from his home has expressed concern over crime in the rural area where he lives.

Joe Jennings, 59, from Denholme, was shocked when he discovered his bike had been taken from his driveway.

Mr Jennings said: “I can’t believe how they stole it. There’s a four foot drop on one side of my drive and the bike was clearly out of view. They must have come on another day and seen it.

“It had been eased out past my car, it must have been a matter of inches. The more people know about these types of thefts the better.”

The bike, which was stolen from Mr Jennings’s home on Foster Park Road in the early hours of last Wednesday, is a blue Quadzilla 300e and the registration number is YJ58 KUW. Mr Jennings said it was not the first time something had been stolen from his home. Two years ago, he had farming equipment taken from a private container.

He added: “I had a lawnmower, which was a good £300. I had a hedge-trimmer which was also expensive. All in all they stole about £2,000 worth of gear and I had no insurance for them.” Mr Jennings, manager of Keith Lambert Cyclesport in Bingley, said CCTV had helped the shop and he now plans to install cameras at his home following the latest incident.

He said: “We didn’t have any camera for the shop a few years ago, and windows would get broken every few months. But since we installed them, we’ve had no problems really. I’m doing the same back home.”

Rachel Gillbanks, from the National Farmers Union, said rural crime was a “pressing concern” among its members and they were working with the police to get crime prevention out there.

She said: “It’s as simple as making sure things are locked away and out of sight.”

Over recent years, police have carried out a number of initiatives to tackle rural crime.

Following on from the huge success of the Farmwatch and Horsewatch scheme in the Worth Valley, police extended the scheme to the Bingley rural ward, which includes Denholme.

The scheme, designed to tackle rural crime, works via e-mail and text, sharing information between the police and the owners of farms and horses.

A recent success saw a missing working sheep dog reunited with its owner. A broadcast message was sent to all members and one of the subscribers located the dog and contacted the police.

Anyone with information about the quad bike theft should call police on 101 or Crimestoppers, in confidence, on 0800 555111.