A POLICE engagement team has been on hand at Harwich Port as part of work to identify stolen machinery.

Essex Police's Rural Engagement Team (RET) were at the port to undergo regular work to identify and recover stolen vehicles and heavy machinery.

The team checked more than 200 lorries leaving the UK and made sure any items of machinery or plant weren’t stolen.

Stolen machinery is added to a national database monitored by specialist police officers.

The theft of heavy machinery is a considerable problem and is sometimes the result of organised crime.

Over the past few months, RET officers have recovered 101 stolen vehicles and items of machinery across Essex.

For advice on how to protect property like heavy machinery, visit https://tinyurl.com/Essex-Police-link