Thieves are becoming more blatant as they aim to steal Land Rover Defenders in Craven.

Inspector Craig Linton, of Skipton Police, said car thieves were now targeting four-wheel-drives at town centre supermarkets in “broad daylight” rather than travelling to rural outlying areas after dark.

Attempted thefts of the vehicles average one a week this year and Defenders – a farmers’ favourite – are targeted because of their high aluminium content, which fetches a high scrap price.

Insp Linton said Defenders were rarely recovered and were probably stripped down within hours.

“A total of 15 four-wheel-drives were taken last year, 10 of which were Defenders,” he said. “The difference this year is that, though the figures are not huge, the thefts are taking place at supermarkets in the middle of the day and that’s quite blatant.

“They go for Defenders because of the aluminium body work. We would urge people to take steps to increase security of vehicles and fit anti-theft devices.”

Four Defenders have been stolen in Craven this year and unsuccessful attempts have been made to steal two more. Other types of vehicles seem not to be at such a risk.

A Skipton man, who wished not to be named and whose Defender was stolen last November, said his “heart sank to his stomach” when he discovered the vehicle was missing.

“The chassis and engine were recovered by police and a man has been charged with receiving stolen goods,” he said. “Apparently Defenders are easy to take apart and strip down so the parts can be exported or sold for scrap.

“It’s not just the loss of the vehicle, it’s all the hassle and inconvenience of dealing with the insurance and the disruption to my business.”

But he said the experience had not put him off Defenders and he has bought another – although with a lot more anti-theft features.

“I’m now trying to make it as difficult as I can for thieves. I’ve got the ultimate deterrent, a tracker meant to be about 95 per cent efficient in pinpointing the vehicle should it be stolen.”

John Standing, of Ribblesdale Motors, the Settle-based Land Rover dealership, said farmers were reluctant to pay extra for devices which would make the thieves think twice.

“Defenders are worth a lot and older ones hold their money well, but they are quite simple and can be taken apart fairly easily,” he said. “There’s a big market for parts so it’s difficult to detect the odd stolen part advertised on places like e-Bay.

“We always recommend immobilisers but farmers never want to spend more than they have to, even though their vehicles are vulnerable as they often live in remote spots. New Defenders now come with immobilisers as standard.”

DC Ann Hearn, of Skipton CID, said farmers needed to be more “crime-conscious”.

“Farmers need to lock their vehicles even if leaving them for a couple of minutes,” she said. “Just because they live in a nice area does not mean they will not be crime victims. We do suffer from travelling criminals who take advantage of some people’s more relaxed approach.”

DC Hearn called on locals and visitors to report any suspicious sightings immediately by telephoning the police on 0845 6060 247.