A man has been charged with two counts of possession of a blade in a public place, assault by beating an emergency service worker, affray, and threatening a person with a bladed article after entering a Devon farm shop with a knife.
Devon and Cornwall police arrested Nicholas Courtney, 45, of no fixed abode, Exeter. He is due to appear at Exeter Magistrates Court today, after being arrested at Darts Farm shop in Devon
He was arrested at 10:45a.m on Monday, March 17 after entering Darts Farm shop in Topsham, with a knife.
No injuries were reported from the incident.
Rural crime
The National Farmers Union (NFU) Mutual’s rural crime report, estimated the cost of rural crime in 2023 to be £52.8m, up 4.3% on the previous year.
Figures fluctuated across the UK against the previous year, increasing by 34.9% in Scotland to an estimated £1.8m.
In Wales the estimated cost increased by 6.7% to an estimated £2.4m, while Northern Ireland saw a decrease, down 21.3% to an estimated £2m.
The report stated that in 2023/2024, there were 60 fewer knife-enabled offences recorded per 100,000 population in predominantly rural areas, than in predominantly urban areas.
In England, the south-west region saw the biggest rise in the cost of rural crime, up 41.9% to an estimated £7m.
The cost of GPS unit thefts alone rose by 137% to an estimated £4.2m.
Quad bikes and ATVs were also top targets for rural thieves, with thefts up 9% to an estimated £3.2m in 2023.
It found that the three counties worst affected by the cost of rural crime in 2023 were Essex (£2.7m), Lincolnshire (£2.5m), and Shropshire (£2.3m).
For the year ending March 2024, police recorded 59 crimes per 1,000 population (excluding fraud) in rural areas and 99 crimes per 1,000 population in urban areas outside of London.
