Farm 999 Season 1 Episode 4

Name: Farm 999 Season 1 Episode 4
Uploaded: 2025-11-09T00:15:55+00:00
Duration: 28 min 41 s
Channel: Reality Insight Hub
Description: Farm 999 Season 1 Episode 4 #Farm999 #RealityInsightHub 🎞 Please subscribe to our official channel to watch the full movie for free, as soon as possible. ❤️Reality Insight Hub❤️ 👉 Official Channel: https://www.dailymotion.com/TrailerBolt 👉 THANK YOU ❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

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Farm 999 Season 1 Episode 4

#Farm999
#RealityInsightHub

🎞 Please subscribe to our official channel to watch the full movie for free, as soon as possible. ❤️Reality Insight Hub❤️
👉 Official Channel: https://www.dailymotion.com/TrailerBolt
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00:00Farming is the most dangerous profession in the UK.

00:06Within seconds, the whole barn was alight.

00:10And farmers are increasingly under threat from criminal gangs.

00:14Police officer, show yourself now!

00:17This programme follows the emergency services.

00:20I wasn't entirely convinced the outcome was going to be brilliant.

00:23And dedicated rural crime units.

00:25You're looking at the result of organised crime.

00:28Working in the UK's most isolated communities.

00:32It's attractive! You're having a laugh!

00:36From heroic rescues to deliberate attacks on animals and farms.

00:41All the trouble started five years ago,

00:43and each year it seems to get a lot worse.

00:45Stand by for a slice of rural life like you've never seen before.

00:52You don't think about farming then,

00:54you're just thinking, am I going to live or die?

00:56I'm Steph McGovern and this is Farm 999.

01:04Coming up...

01:06Farmers in Yorkshire are terrorised by a gang of illegal off-road riders

01:11who are leaving nails embedded in concrete around their farms.

01:15These are just a few of what we've found.

01:18Somewhere we run with tractors and somewhere the cows are.

01:21Police pursue a gang of men who are illegally hunting hares.

01:25Still warm, these hares.

01:27And reporter Paul Colgan gets a demonstration of cutting-edge firefighting tech from Scottish farmers.

01:35It's ultra-high-pressure firefighting lands.

01:39So within seconds you can arrive on the scene and start extinguishing a fire from the outside.

01:44That's correct, yes.

01:49Today's programme starts with an issue that's a real headache for farmers.

01:53Illegal off-road driving.

01:55So you get these criminal gangs who will often film themselves mindlessly causing damage to farmers' land

02:01just for the likes on social media.

02:03But now the police are hitting back.

02:05Quad bike riders are causing grief for local farmers.

02:21If we confront them, they come back to try and make a stand.

02:26Local police are doing everything they can to catch the perpetrators.

02:32We take about 2,000 calls a month in relation to quad bikes.

02:36A lot of farmers struggle with the damage that's caused by them.

02:40It's not just an illegal quad bike.

02:43They're committing various criminal activity.

02:52Helen Smith has been farming in South Yorkshire her whole life.

02:56And illegal quad bikers on her land is a recurring issue.

02:59All the trouble really started about five years ago.

03:03And each year it seems to get a lot worse.

03:06Luke Bugdoll works for the South Yorkshire Rural Crime Unit.

03:10He deals with reports of damage every week.

03:13We dealt with one recently where these youths created their own dirt track.

03:19That cost the farmer, I think it was about £3,000 to repair the damage.

03:23Up there they've got two gaps because all the weekend they were in with quad bikes.

03:30And the same down here they were in with quad bikes.

03:32Some of the damage that we've had by the quads and the reseeding and everything.

03:37I bet you're getting to £100,000 easy.

03:39These images are from quad bike damage on other farms in the area.

03:44For Helen, what started as a local nuisance has now escalated into intimidating behaviour.

03:53We tried stopping them and then they decided that they were going to be brave aid out.

03:58And that's when they come and cut the fence down and shot at the conservatory.

04:01Helen's 84-year-old mum, Olga, was inside when the gang drove up and fired gunshots at her house.

04:09I was sat in the conservatory and I heard this noise.

04:13It just sounded like a gun.

04:16You think you're safe in your own home and it frightens you, you know.

04:21If you look into the distance to the wood over there,

04:24they came straight across this field here, right up and straight across to where the house is

04:29to shoot at the conservatory.

04:32Worked all his life for what we've got now.

04:35And folks aren't bothered, like, at all.

04:38No respect or anything for folks' property or anything.

04:42And it hasn't stopped there as Helen and her husband, Stephen,

04:45have been finding six-inch nails embedded into concrete all across their land.

04:52These are just a few of what we've found.

04:55Some where we run with tractors and some where the cows are.

04:58And if cows lame them, it punches the stomach and it releases gas and they just die.

05:09I have my bag of nerves sometimes, you know.

05:12Helen's younger than me and she can take it, but it gets on my nerves, yeah.

05:17It does. It gets me down.

05:19One particular quad bike rider became of interest to the police after having a strong presence on social media.

05:29We were notified by one of the local gamekeepers of a social media site that had got a video on by this particular person.

05:40That's one of the things that they like to do, is to boast about their illegal activity.

05:46And they were basically causing significant damage to that land.

05:50He's riding along on a quad, clearly evident that it's him.

05:53It then goes to a group of 10 or 12 quads in a field and then out onto a farmer's land causing damage to the land.

06:01It's like, why would you want to do that?

06:03And it's just for gaining that notoriety with their pals.

06:09Luke and the rural crime team conducted a painstaking search of social media to identify the suspect,

06:17and a few weeks later, he was spotted.

06:21We identified that person on a quad filling up at a fuel station.

06:26Upon seeing police, he made off on the quad bike.

06:32That quad bike was pursued to the point where it essentially ruined the engine on it

06:36and it couldn't go any further, at which point he jumped off and started jumping over fences through people's gardens

06:43and managed to make good his escape.

06:46Later in the programme, police hunt down the evasive quad biker.

06:57This next story is pretty amazing.

06:59I've only just found out there's a load of farmers in Scotland who are on-call firefighters too.

07:04Like, could you imagine trying to juggle those two jobs?

07:07Well, we wanted to find out how they do it, so we sent our roving reporter Paul Colgan to a farm in Inverness.

07:25Scotland is home to some of the most beautiful and spectacular scenery in the UK,

07:31but it's also home to some of the most rural and isolated communities,

07:36especially here in the highlands and islands.

07:38And keeping those communities safe is a big challenge.

07:44Scotland has the fourth largest fire service in the world,

07:48and the backbone of its rural service is on-call firefighters,

07:52many of whom are also farmers.

07:54People like Stuart McPherson, who is a tenant farmer at Dell Estate,

07:59for the last 16 years he's been juggling firefighting and saving lives with duties on the farm.

08:06Today he's dosing his sheep and lambs with the help of wife Amy and daughter Iona,

08:11something I used to help my dad with many years ago.

08:19So what we do, gently in the mouth, and just one squeeze, so she's now free to go.

08:24OK.

08:26Give the gun a squeeze.

08:30I don't know how the technique is these days, but it was alright, was it?

08:34That was a correct technique. That was brilliant.

08:38After dosing the sheep, there's still a full herd of cattle needing fed.

08:44So you're very busy all year round, you have the sheep and you have the cattle.

08:48Why did you then decide to become an on-call firefighter?

08:53Mainly because it was something I could give back to the community.

08:56You know, I'm working at home all day,

08:58and generally the on-call firefighters look for people that can provide daytime cover permanently.

09:03And I thought, yeah, I could help them, maybe make the community a wee bit more safer.

09:06And when was the last time you got called out?

09:08Yeah, pagers activated round about half past four yesterday,

09:11and we went to a small bonfire in a garden, but it caught onto the neighbour's hedge.

09:18So the emergencies that we get called out to is a broad spectrum of things,

09:22and that's just part of the nature of our job.

09:25But people are there looking for us and our support.

09:29To find out how quickly Stuart can drop everything,

09:32I'm heading to the local fire station where his colleague Dave Meehan is on duty

09:37and has agreed to mock up a call.

09:39What would you normally do in one of these mock-up calls?

09:42The first thing we'll do is we press the run on Call of Britain,

09:44and that will set off the cruise pagers.

09:46So Stuart's pager will go off, and no matter what he's doing,

09:49he'll have to drop everything and get in the car and away you go.

09:51Exactly.

09:52Scott, that's Paul, we'll have to go.

09:57In the Highlands and Islands, bar the city of Inverness,

10:01all of the stations rely entirely on on-call firefighters like Stuart,

10:06and today's test will include four other members of the crew.

10:11You never know what you're attending to,

10:12but you always know there's going to be somebody in need.

10:15On average, it takes Scotland's army of highly trained on-call firefighters

10:21between five and eight minutes to respond.

10:26Stuart is well on the road now at this stage.

10:28He'll be here any minute.

10:30We're about six minutes in.

10:34And sure enough, as the first of the crew start arriving in,

10:38Stuart's not far behind, making it in a time of seven minutes, 30 seconds.

10:45So these guys are moving very, very quickly.

10:47They obviously do this fairly regularly, and it's like second nature to them.

10:52Now that everyone has gathered, it's a chance to carry out some training.

10:56And today they're testing out a new hose that can cut through concrete.

11:02It's an ultra-high pressure firefighting lance

11:05where we can stand outside and fire water in by actually piercing the building.

11:10So within seconds you can arrive on the scene,

11:13punch that hose and start extinguishing the fire from the outside.

11:17That's correct, yes.

11:18We're on the outside of the building.

11:20It's making our job a lot safer.

11:22Although there's no time to train me up on the specialised lance,

11:26we're able to squeeze in a quick session on the regular hose.

11:30Once you're ready, you pull the trigger back and just aim straight out to there.

11:34OK.

11:35OK.

11:37If you're looking to gain more distance, turn it to the right slightly.

11:40OK.

11:41And you can see it goes into a fine jet.

11:42Yeah.

11:43If you're looking more of a straight, turn it to the left, OK?

11:46OK.

11:49Well, the 11-year-old at home will be very jealous of this.

11:52I don't know if I'm cut out for it, though, to be honest with you.

11:55600-degree heat.

11:56I think I'll leave that to you and the rest of them.

12:01Stuart, I must say it's like meeting two different people here today.

12:04On the one hand, you have the farmer, but then the pager goes off

12:08and you switch into a different mode altogether.

12:11When that pager goes off, your training kicks in

12:13and you are then ready to go, and hopefully, you know,

12:17you'll go and save a life.

12:20It's a great opportunity.

12:21It's a great job to do in life.

12:28What a life, eh?

12:29Juggling those jobs.

12:30Well, with me to talk more about it,

12:32we've got David Ferris,

12:34who is from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

12:37So, it's really interesting, this,

12:39this idea of being an on-call firefighter.

12:41Can you just tell us a bit more about it,

12:43what it actually means?

12:44Yeah.

12:45We've got a huge amount of on-call firefighters in Scotland

12:49and really, really committed people

12:51who give their time to the community

12:54to provide that emergency cover

12:56and do that, as you say,

12:57whilst juggling either another job

12:59or caring responsibilities.

13:01So, you know, it's like a part-time job,

13:03but effectively, they're providing the emergency cover

13:05to their community.

13:06Yeah.

13:07And what kind of skills do they have

13:09that, you know, you kind of really want them to have?

13:11Well, we get on-call firefighters from all walks of life,

13:14so they all bring different skills to the role.

13:17But ultimately, what we're looking for is that kind of ability to teamwork,

13:21you know, the problem-solving element,

13:23the ability to, you know, use and handle tools and equipment,

13:27and a bit of physical fitness as well to take on that role.

13:31Yeah, because farmers make good on-call firefighters, don't they?

13:34Yeah, absolutely, absolutely.

13:36We've got, you know, lots of farmers and crofters,

13:39particularly in Scotland, you know, that are on-call firefighters.

13:42You know, I think there is that element of problem-solving,

13:45there's that element of physical fitness as well,

13:47but they know the area, they know the community, they know the land,

13:51and we get lots and lots of different diverse types of incidents

13:54with the fire service, you know, so it's not all fires.

13:57We do have other types of incidents, rescues, wildfire or flooding,

14:02and even, you know, incidents with large animal rescue.

14:05So farmers and the skills that they possess are really transferable skills,

14:09and they can bring that to bear in the fire service.

14:11And what kind of difference can they make?

14:13Like, how important is it to have them?

14:15Well, I mean, ultimately what we're trying to do across Scotland,

14:18you know, and bearing in mind Scotland's got, you know,

14:2170% of the population is in the central belt,

14:24but on-call firefighters cover 85% of the geography of Scotland,

14:28you know, so they cover a huge amount of the country.

14:31And what we're trying to do is ensure that we've got a response

14:35to emergencies in some really rural communities.

14:38So when we have farmers who, as I said before,

14:41tend to be located within that community,

14:43it's good to have them available so that we can get fire engines on the run,

14:46and we can blend their skills with people from all across the community

14:49to make a really rounded crew.

14:52So it's worth contacting your local fire station if you're interested in this?

14:55No, it absolutely is, and we'd encourage people to do that.

14:58Yeah. Amazing, thank you very much.

15:00Still to come on Farm 999.

15:04Police in South Yorkshire continue their pursuit of illegal off-road gangs

15:08who are making farmers' lives a misery.

15:11We shouldn't be looking over his shoulder all the time.

15:14We shouldn't be scared.

15:17Our next story is about a wildlife crime known as hare coursing.

15:21So this is where dogs chase and attack hares for sport.

15:26Now not only is this cruel and illegal, but it also damages crops and leaves farmers feeling vulnerable and afraid.

15:34Police have received a report that a group of people have driven onto farmland in the Itchin Abbas area.

15:50They're suspected of hare coursing, an illegal blood sport that's become a real issue for farmers.

16:02Approaching the junction now, now, now.

16:05They were increasing their speeds. A very dangerous set of circumstances.

16:11Driver? What's your name?

16:13Still warm, these hares.

16:15You're under us on suspicion of poaching.

16:17Al has been farming this area of Hampshire for 10 years.

16:25It's perfect land for arable farming.

16:28Unfortunately, it's also perfect for hare coursing.

16:32What we're seeing here is the typical ground for a hare coursing.

16:36It's flat. They'll start at this time of year.

16:39We'll be running in on ground that's been silaged or taken for hay.

16:43Not only do the dogs run in it, they run vehicles all over it.

16:46So we get tracks everywhere, ruts, crop disruption, crop damage.

16:51And the bit that really galls me is they think it's okay.

16:55For rural crime officer Inspector Stu Ross, it's been an escalating problem.

17:01Hare coursing is very much linked to organised criminal gangs.

17:05They will bet and video what they're doing and make money from that.

17:09And the money that is made from hare coursing is then invested into other technologies

17:15to be able to steal plant and agricultural machinery from rural communities.

17:21Through his investigation, Stu has come across videos of hare coursers in action online.

17:27So here you see a typical incident of hare coursing.

17:32The dog is released. He's now in pursuit of the hare.

17:38And the final piece of the footage that the dog has sadly managed to catch that hare and kill it.

17:48But police forces across the country are clamping down on this illegal activity.

17:53With Operation Galileo in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight Constabulary, they're starting to see results.

17:59We will deploy as many resources as we possibly can to intercept and disrupt the activity that's been reported to us.

18:08In January 2023, a report of hare coursing on farmland at night saw the team spring into action.

18:17Police officers on the ground lay in wait while they followed the movement of the hare coursers from a police helicopter.

18:29It wasn't long before they ran straight into the response team.

18:38Standby about 50 yards away now.

18:44Approaching the junction now. Now. Now.

18:48The front vehicle turns right and it sees the police vehicle and makes a wide right turn.

18:55At that point, it actually goes into a ditch.

18:59We've got contact with the police car.

19:01The officers draw tasers.

19:04With the first vehicle unable to escape, the police move in to arrest the occupants and search the car.

19:10Still warm, these hares.

19:13In the boot, two lurcher dogs.

19:16They were cowering, quivering in the back.

19:19And we obviously have to consider the welfare of those animals as well.

19:22And we took them into our care.

19:27Whilst this is all happening, the second vehicle avoids a police car which is parked right there and makes off at speed.

19:35Vehicle's on the roundabout.

19:37Actually goes on to the main motorway network, travelling south.

19:42Empath 45, he's taking the exit down towards Southampton, over.

19:46The helicopter followed the car's progress right to an address in Southampton.

19:50The men inside had no idea they were being watched.

19:53Until the police pounced.

19:56It's at that point, police vehicles block the offending vehicle in and detained all those individuals.

20:02You're under arrest on suspicion of policing, all right?

20:05There was dogs also present.

20:07Again, the typical breed of those used in hair coursing.

20:11All five men arrested pleaded guilty to trespassing with intent to search for or pursue hares with dogs and being equipped to do so.

20:20They were all sentenced.

20:22We were able to ban those individuals from driving, ban them from holding dogs and actually compensate the landowner for the damage to the field.

20:32For Hampshire farmers like Al, the more hair courses caught and convicted, the better.

20:38Our interaction with the police is absolutely essential.

20:40We've got a very good rural team here in Hampshire.

20:45We are seeing some really, really good results.

20:47This is so important to the rural communities because we can actually stop these individuals and prevent them from coming into these areas and making it a really hostile place.

20:58Well, to talk more about hair coursing, we've got Kevin Lax Kelly here, who's head of the National Wildlife Crime Unit.

21:11It's quite amazing, this. Hair coursing is a massive thing, isn't it? Not just in the UK, but across the world.

21:16It is. It's huge. In fact, hair coursing is the one wildlife crime that creates the most demand to policing.

21:27So when we look at wildlife crime across its entirety, hair coursing dwarfs every other wildlife crime.

21:34Wow. So why are so many people doing hair coursing?

21:36Well, I've seen this evolve over the years and historically, it'd almost be like granddad rights, you know, so people would do it because, you know, the fathers or the granddads have and it was something to do in a rural area and you train your dog.

21:49And it's evolved all the way through to serious and organised gang members doing this in the kind of downtime from the crimes that they usually do.

21:5978% of the most prolific offenders that commit this crime are members of or linked to serious and organised crime groups for what I would say traditional crime.

22:09We even find county lines drug dealing linked to hair coursing.

22:13And then, of course, the money factor comes into it.

22:16So we've seen in recent years in the UK, high cash events where significant money is being exchanged, tens of thousands.

22:25And in one case, £70,000 being exchanged for the winner of a competition.

22:30So that shows why criminals do it and want to do it.

22:32And then we have information and intelligence that suggests that people treat this almost like when I was younger in our local community club that have race days, you know, where they play videos of horses and you could, you know, back the horse.

22:46And they're doing that with hair coursing.

22:48That's incredible, isn't it?

22:49Yeah, the evolution's bizarre.

22:50Yeah. And why does it matter so much to rural communities?

22:53So you're having people living in fear constantly.

22:56And to try and put yourself in their position, you know, it's hard to even try to resonate.

23:01Living 24-7, looking over your shoulder, having to spend significant amounts of money to bolster the security on your property.

23:10You know, wondering if you challenge somebody for doing something on your land that provides your livelihood.

23:15Are you going to get threats? Are your family going to be safe?

23:17And then it's beyond the threats. It's the antisocial behaviour. It's the damage to property. It's the damage to crops with vehicles driving over fields that can sometimes write a full crop off.

23:27Hmm. And so it's really important that the penalties are harsh. So it acts as a deterrent.

23:31It's got to be a deterrent. Absolutely.

23:32With wildlife crime, it's always difficult because it's trying to gauge the human impacts because ultimately it is a wildlife crime.

23:41But you've got all these different dynamics with hair coursing because it matters so much to rural communities because of living fear of crime.

23:47Thank you so much for explaining that. It's just staggering the money involved in this, isn't it?

23:52It is.

23:53Right, it is time now to return to the quad bike theft in South Yorkshire.

23:58One suspect might have escaped, but the police are not going to give up that easily.

24:02Quad bikes often stolen have been proving a menace for farmers in South Yorkshire.

24:19The damage that we've had by the quads, I bet you're getting to £100,000. Easy.

24:24A man identified as a perpetrator via social media clips was spotted by police at a local filling station.

24:32Just pull straight out into traffic. No consideration for any other road users.

24:39Police took chase, but he escaped.

24:44However, Luke Bugdoll, who was investigating the case, was not about to give up.

24:49So he went back to the filling station and checked the CCTV.

24:53Lo and behold, when I went and viewed the CCTV footage, it was clear as day who it was.

25:00I knew his identity because we'd been looking at him already.

25:05So it was just a case of finding out where he lived and getting a current address for him

25:10and going and knocking on his door one morning.

25:16The female answered the door and confirmed that he was there.

25:20Come to lock you up, my own.

25:21Go for it.

25:22Disqualified driving, no insurance, failing to stop for police.

25:27Where?

25:28Oh, Maltby.

25:29You're on CCTV.

25:31It's clear as day.

25:33Petrol station forecourt, you fill up, you go inside, you pay, you come out, you see cops on bike, you jump on quad and you flee.

25:41I don't know more about it.

25:42I don't know more about it.

25:43If you want to argue with CCTV, that was absolutely fine.

25:44But the quad that you were on, that were displaying false plates, was stolen.

25:49He got out of bed in his underwear.

25:50Should I brush my teeth?

25:51I literally just jumped out of bed.

25:52All right, go on then.

25:53When arrested, the suspect was also found to be in possession of cocaine and he was subsequently convicted for failing to stop for the police.

26:00Failing to identify the driver of a vehicle, a mobile phone offence and possession of classic drugs.

26:06Luke and his team were delighted. Their hard work had paid off.

26:09Definitely happy that he was convicted.

26:12Unfortunately, people do think that they can continue to do what they're doing without any recourse for their actions.

26:16And it's now been a big deal for the police.

26:17When he was arrested, the suspect was also found to be in possession of cocaine and he was subsequently convicted for failing to stop for the police.

26:22Failing to identify the driver of a vehicle, a mobile phone offence and possession of classic drugs.

26:27Luke and his team were delighted. Their hard work had paid off.

26:31Definitely happy that he was convicted.

26:33The driver of the quad was disqualified from driving for two years, sentenced to 420 hours of unpaid work and ordered to pay fines, totalling almost £400.

26:55I've been at job 14 years. One of the first things I was always told is take the wins that you can get.

27:01We only have to be lucky once. They have to be lucky every day.

27:05For farmers like Helen, the more people convicted and off their land, the better.

27:11I would like these people that's causing all the trouble to just leave us alone to get on with us jobs.

27:17And leave us to be able to farm us land, look after us cows and not be frightened every time we're good to see cows are all right.

27:24We shouldn't be looking over his shoulder all the time. We shouldn't be scared. We should just be left to get on with it and like, let them go somewhere else where they're not going to cause a nuisance to somebody or something.

27:39But leave us farmers alone. We've had enough now.

27:49A really important message there from Helen and a reminder of the impact that antisocial behaviour can have on victims.

27:54Well that's it for this episode. Thanks so much for watching. We'll see you next time for more emergency response action from the heart of the UK's rural communities.

28:05But if you can't wait, then Farm 999 is available now on BBC iPlayer.

28:10We'll see you next time.

28:11We'll see you next time.