A MAJOR police operation targeting rural criminals in the lanes of West Dorset has been hailed as a success.

Car fires, arson attacks and a rammed police vehicle were all part of the cross-border police operation involving three forces.

Operation Shogun involved 36 officers from Dorset, Devon and Cornwall and Avon and Somerset in a three-day collaboration to target rural crime on the boundary of all three counties.

Bridport Police Insp Mike Darby said the operation was such a success the cross-border co-operation would now happen more regularly.

On the first night of patrols police identified a 4x4 vehicle they believed to be involved in diesel and oil thefts.

Insp Darby said: “When the driver realised it was going to be stopped they made off and crashed.

“We recovered the vehicle with a large quantity of oil containers and equipment used in theft – siphoning and pumps.

“The driver made off and we believe was picked up by associates quite close by.”

Police are trying to trace the vehicle owner and it is being forensically examined.

On the second night a Vauxhall Astra was set alight around midnight in a car park at the rear of Nutcombe Terrace in Charmouth.

Insp Darby said: “A man was seen doing it by a member of the public who called police who then started searching the area for a distinctive white van.

“Shortly afterwards a barn fire was set near Morcombelake and police found the van which then proceeded to ram a police vehicle before crashing.

“The white van was then set alight and that person ran off.”

Police believe the fires are all linked.

Insp Darby said criminals who became known by local police tended to move into other areas where they were not so easily recognised.

He said: “Operation Shogun is an effective and co-ordinated way of targeting people who commit rural crime.

“We certainly prevented offences being committed and are targeting the right people.

“We ran a three-day operation last week which involved 12 police officers, including specialist traffic officers and police dogs from Dorset and the other forces supplied the same number each.”

A man in his 20s from the Bridport area was arrested in connection with inquiries into arson offences in the Charmouth and Marshwood Vale areas and was bailed by police pending further inquiries.

Police view

Inspector Mike Darby said: “Operation Shogun is a cross border rural crime initiative which we run in conjunction with Avon and Somerset and Devon and Cornwall police officers where we target the areas between our three counties – obviously criminals don’t respect police delineated borders.”