POLICE arrested a man and seized stolen vehicles and machinery valued at £50,000.

A captive goldfinch was also freed back into the wild.

A police spokesman said officers made the discovery while searching for a stolen motorhome.

He added: "Officers from Dorset Police Rural Crime Team & North and East Dorset Rural Police and other units from our specialist teams attended an address in East Dorset area and we ended the day with the seizure of suspected stolen RTV, plant machinery, one stolen vehicle all with a combined value of £50,000.

“A Polaris Ranger and a hydraulic chipper, both suspected to have been stolen, were seized. A Peugeot vehicle was also seized.

“An unringed goldfinch was found at the location. Following enquiries made with a wildlife crime officer, it was agreed that the goldfinch would be released back into the wild.”

“A 61-year-old man from the Wimborne area was arrested on suspicion of theft and handling stolen goods. He has been released under investigation while enquiries continue.”

A spokesman for the Rural Crime Team added: "Please help us to help you. If you own tractors, quad bikes, RTVs, telehandlers or trailers please consider tracking devices and marking systems such as Datatag ID Limited.

"These systems help us when we are on these kinds of jobs to quickly and easily identify stolen items and help us to reunite victims of rural crime with items.

"Please contact your insurance company and see if they offer a discount on these security measures. If you would like to arrange for our Rural Crime Prevention specialist to come to your farm, smallholding or other rural business to offer socially distanced crime prevention advice and information please contact us via email ruralcrimeteam@dorset.pnn.police.uk"