Police have issued a warning on rural crime following a spate of quad bike thefts from addresses in Radnorshire.

The theft of three bikes and the attempted theft of another are the subject of an investigation by Dyfed Powys police.

Officers say two Honda quad ATM bikes were stolen overnight from the Nantmel and Llanfihangel-Nant-Melan areas between Monday, September 10 and Tuesday, September 11, while a third quad ATM was removed from a farm building in the Penybont area, moved down the farm lane and abandoned.

During the following evening of Wednesday, September 12 a fourth Honda ATM quad bike was stolen from a farmyard in the Nantmel area, near Rhayader.

Police have now appealing for information regarding these crimes, and say anyone who has witnessed anything suspicious in connection with any of the mentioned crimes, or has seen anything else which may be relevant, should get in touch.

"Criminals arriving on your farm won’t always be obvious. They may call beforehand with any excuse, just to look at what you have available to steal," said a spokesperson.

"Whether it’s asking you to buy scrap, cheap tools or just asking for directions. Any excuse usually means one thing – they are looking for what they can come back and steal later. Thieves may park away from your premises and attend on foot. They will have done their homework on entry and exit points or they simply use freely available satellite photos and maps from the internet."

Anyone with information on any of these incidents should contact Dyfed-Powys Police by calling 101. Alternatively, contact Crime Stoppers anonymously by calling 0800 555 111.