(Page last updated: 20.06.2025 – the lastest information can be found below the Mendip West NPT Update. This page has been updated on 29.01.26 to increase accessability)
The Parish operates a Neighbourhood Watch scheme co-ordinated by Lynne Mitchell who can be contacted on 07773 345092 or lydfordnhw@gmail.com. Lynne is supported by a number of volunteers who look after specific areas and they are there to offer help and advice. Your local contact should get in touch with you soon after you move in, and details are printed in the Parish Magazine. Incident reports will be posted on the village and shop noticeboards and in addition residents are welcome to email Lynne with their email address so that the information can be delivered promptly. Emails will be sent out as bcc’s to ensure that addresses remain anonymous. Please help to keep Lydford safe and crime free by reporting any crime or suspicious activities you become aware of. If in doubt ask us for advice.
To register for the Lydford Neighbourhood Watch please download and complete this form:
The GDPR can be downloaded here:
Contacting the Police
Call 999 for emergencies or crime/incidents in progress
Call 101 for non-urgent or historical crime reporting
Report a new crime | Avon and Somerset Police
Update an existing crime report | Avon and Somerset Police
Report rural or wildlife crime | Avon and Somerset Police
Police Stations | Avon and Somerset Police
www.avonandsomerset.police.uk | Follow us on Twitter/X and Facebook
Crimestoppers
To give information anonymously call 0800 555 111 or use this link:
Giving information anonymously | Crimestoppers (crimestoppers-uk.org)
Below you can view and download the Mendip West Update for August 2024, created by your (NPT) Neighbourhood Police Team:
Facebook Marketplace Sellers Beware – Counterfeit Cash
We’ve received reports from areas including Weston-super-Mare, Bath and Bristol, where items including laptops, game consoles and mobile phones have been advertised for sale on Facebook Marketplace and upon collection of the item, the buyer pays, often hundreds of pounds, with counterfeit currency which is sadly worthless.
Please be cautious. If you are selling, we recommend:
- Take pictures of goods including serial/identification numbers.
- Before agreeing a sale, check the buyer’s profile including recent activity and
friends and satisfy yourself they are legitimate. - Be suspicious of buyers who rush you into completing the sale, especially if they
offer more than agreed price. - Keep a record of the buyer’s profile name and link, telephone number and any
vehicle registration. - Learn how to identify counterfeit notes. Find out more from the Bank of England
- Where possible, meet away from your home so that the buyer does not know
your personal address. - If you do meet at home, ensure any CCTV or Ring Doorbell is on and recording.
- Complete the exchange in company with another person present for safety.
- Never hand over goods until you’re satisfied you’ve received genuine payment.
- Report scam profiles to the relevant platform e.g. Facebook directly.
- If you’ve been a victim of this crime, report directly to your local police
- Always call 999 if a crime is in progress.
Stop! Think fraud.
New online reporting form created for rural and wildlife crime
In an effort to make it easier for the public to report rural and wildlife crime, we are excited to announce the launch of our new online reporting form.
This initiative is designed to streamline the process of reporting crime, making it more accessible, efficient, and user-friendly for everyone. The new forms provide clear guidance on which type of crime to report and the appropriate form to use, these are:
Rural crime reporting
This form is specifically for incidents involving agricultural crime, such as theft of equipment, machinery, livestock, or property, as well as criminal damage to agriculture land.
If you are witnessing or have been affected by any such incidents, use this form to help us address the issue.
Wildlife crime reporting
If you encounter or witness activities that harm or endanger wildlife – such as illegal hunting, hare coursing, poaching, badger persecution, bat persecution or the destruction of habitats – please use the wildlife crime form.
This specialised form ensures we can quickly assess the situation and take the necessary action.
Why is it important to report?
Rural and wildlife crimes are often under reported due to the isolated nature of rural areas or lack of awareness about the types of crime that can harm wildlife. With these new forms, we aim to close the gap and empower the public to report such crimes in real time.
The more information we gather, the more we can do to protect both rural communities and the wildlife which inhabit them.
How do I report a crime?
Simply visit this page, where you can find the forms for both rural and wildlife crimes.
Once you’ve selected the correct form for your situation, fill out the details, and submit it. All information provided is handled with the utmost confidentiality.
Help us make a difference. By reporting a crime today, together we can protect our rural landscapes and the wildlife we cherish.
Rogue Traders
Intelligence suggests cold callers may be operating in your area, offering services like guttering repair and driveway tarmacking. They may be very persistent when trying to get work.
- Don’t agree to work offered by unsolicited doorstep callers.
- Don’t rely on posts or recommendations on social media sites or trader approval platforms without
doing your own research. - Don’t be swayed by glossy flyers or impressive websites as they may not show the trader’s own work.
- Don’t pay cash or agree to be taken to the bank or immediately transfer money before any work is
started. - Don’t be rushed into making a decision. If you want work doing in your home or garden, make sure you:
- Get three written quotes from reputable businesses.
- Research the companies e.g. ask for references and look online.
- Ask friends and family to recommend local traders or search via Buy With Confidence
- Decide who to use in your own time and make sure you have confidence in their skills and abilities.
- Make sure you have the full name of the company and the person doing the work and their contact details (address, phone number, email).
- Ask to see professional qualifications, public liability insurance and if applicable Waste Carriers Licence.
- To check the service you use has a Waste Carriers Licence:
- Unlicensed carriers will often fly-tip your waste at roadsides and beauty spots. You could face an unlimited fine if your waste ends up fly-tipped and you cannot show that you took reasonable steps to prevent it.
- Always ask exactly what is going to happen to your waste and seek evidence that it is going to be disposed of appropriately. A legitimate, professional waste carrier should not object to being asked reasonable questions.
- Get a proper invoice and receipt for your waste and retain this as proof.
- Check if you’re entitled to your 14-day cooling-off period – see this guide
- Ask if the company has an Alternative Dispute Resolution policy – is there any independent body to complain to if things go wrong?
- Pay by bank transfer so the payment is traceable. If you can, use a credit card for payments between £100 and £30,000 because if you have a claim for breach of contract or misrepresentation against the supplier of the goods or services, Section 75 gives you the same claim against your credit card company.
- If you are concerned rogue traders are operating in your area, always report it to Citizens Advice
- If you are concerned someone is at risk, always call the police.
- If someone knocks on your door and you’re not sure, don’t open the door.
- Find more information here
National campaign launched to prevent romance fraud
Know the signs of doorstep crime
Parking Penalty charge notice scam
Tips for securing your home
- The most important thing to prevent burglary is to make the home look as if it’s occupied. The use of lights on timer switches is recommended, and if you can also put one on a radio tuned to a talk station that will also make it sound like someone is in, and having a conversation. Fake TV lights are now available, which gives the impression that someone is watching television, and these can work really well if you have them in an upstairs bedroom.
- Ensure that all doors and windows are closed and properly locked – use a key, don’t just lift the door handle. Take the keys out of the door when it’s locked and put them somewhere out of sight and reach, but make sure all the residents know where they are kept in case of emergency.
- Sheds, garages and outbuildings are popular targets for burglars, so increase the security to these whenever possible. Check that the contents of these places are included on our home and contents insurance.
- Register your belongings on the Immobilise property register. If anything lost or stolen is handed to the police you have a good chance of getting your property returned.
- Restrict access to the rear of your property wherever possible – lock any side gates leading to the rear – as the back or patio doors are the most popular site of forced entry. Think about growing some thorny bushes along the garden fencing.
- Lock away ladders or any tools that could help a burglar, and secure any garden furniture or wheelie bins that can be moved to help gain access to an extension or first floor window.
- If you’re taking the car with you, ask a neighbour to use your driveway while you are away to make the home look occupied.
- Cut the lawn and keep the garden tidy. Long grass suggests that the house is empty or the occupant is unable to look after the garden.
- Consider installing a burglar alarm – they are a real deterrent – but get an approved or recommended model, as the cheap ones aren’t really that reliable and if the alarm keeps going off your neighbours will soon lose interest and may ignore a real activation.
- Don’t forget to cancel any milk or newspaper deliveries, and postpone ordering anything that may arrive while you’re away.
Protecting your home and belongings
Beating car crime
Van security
Securing your garden and outbuildings
The value of property stored in sheds and outbuildings is often much greater than you may realise.
Keeping your garden secure
By increasing the security of your garden, not only can you reduce theft and burglary to your outbuildings, but you can also help to minimise the risk of forced entry to your house.
- Supplement and reinforce garden fences with tall and prickly plants and shrubbery to act as a further deterrent to accessing your property.
- Shrubbery can also be used under first-floor windows and around drainpipes to prevent unauthorised access.
- If the access to the back of your house is gained via a passage, it is recommended you fit a steel bar gate, at least the same height as your garden fencing.
- Install outside security lighting operated by either movement sensor or photoelectric cell.
- Photograph valuable and unusual garden ornaments and keep these in a secure place.
Security advice for outbuildings
- Mark your power tools or other items with your postcode and house number or the first two letters of your house name and register the details on the Immobilise website.
- Put away all tools and equipment and lock up using good quality or specialist locks.
- Remember, these tools could be used to break into your home. Do not leave ladders outside, or chain them up if you have to.
- Double garage doors with a rim latch should be supplemented with a mortice deadlock.
- Traditional ‘up and over’ garage doors are easily overcome by a burglar. You can prevent this by drilling a hole through the channel above the wheels and fitting a padlock. Alternatively, fit a hasp and staple each side of the door with a padlock or fit a specialist lock.
- If the garage is attached to the main building, make sure any connecting doors are secure.
- Check your household insurance covers theft from your garden and outbuildings.
- Fit a battery-operated alarm.
- Fit a window grille and/or frosted window film to stop a thief seeing into your shed or garage.
- Chain tools, bicycles and other valuable equipment together using a high-security chain or cable and a good quality padlock.
- Replace standard hinges with strap hinges secured by coach bolts or use security screws on existing hinges.
Report it
You can report your garden or outbuildings being burgled:
- online – fill in the report a crime or incident form
- by phone – call 101
You can register your stolen items on the Immobilise website.
Tackling drug crime
Home secutiry system scams
Bath and North East Somerset Trading Standards have been made aware of three residents being contacted by suspected fraudsters who are claiming to be from “Bath Council”, “Safe and Secure” or “Protect Your Home UK”.
The caller say that they are contacting people aged between 50 and 70 to offer home security systems. One resident was offered an ID wrist band for £1, along with a quote for floor sensors which would alert the wristband if there was a flood or fire. The other resident was offered free security equipment, £1 for installation and ongoing maintenance costs to be agreed. Both residents say the caller was extremely convincing. The caller guaranteed that police, ambulance or fire would attend an incident. The telephone number provided to residents does not work and it’s believed that this is a scam.
This may be an attempt to get people’s bank details or to sign residents up to an expensive monthly subscription.
If you have been affected by a similar telephone call, the advice from Trading Standards is to call the Citizens Advice Consumer Service on 03454 04 05 06 or report it online.
Avon and Somerset police and crime plan 2021-2025
Dogs and livestock
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