A JEEP and a generator worth thousands of pounds were stolen from premises across the Alton area last week. A Land Rover Discovery (reg. P157HEY) was taken by thieves who managed to break into secure farm grounds on Trinity Road, Medstead, sometime in the early hours of Monday, January 24. Two days later, also very early in the morning, a Honda EG3000XB generator was stolen from a garage in Oakhanger. Theft of plant machinery taken from building sites and farms has become a major concern for local contractors and farmers. Hampshire Constabulary launched an initiative in August last year aimed at cracking down on organised groups targeting high-value building equipment left on-site, but this sort of crime continues. If efforts to stamp out the growing number of thefts from sites across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight are to be successful, police said people must be watchful for items such as diggers, generators and excavators being transported at unusual times of the night. Since April 1 last year, more than £1 million worth of plant machinery has been stolen from sites across Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. Almost all of the thefts have taken place overnight from construction sites, with fork- lifts, trailers and dumper trucks being among the items commonly taken. Stealing machinery of this size requires large lorries and an organised group of criminals, but the rewards are clearly high. In August, 2004 alone, around £45,000-worth of machinery was stolen from the Alton area. And in March, the new £13 million Onyx- developed Material Recycling Plant (MRF), in Froyle, had £70,000 worth of assorted plant machinery lifted from a secure unit after criminals broke through security gates before stealing two diggers worth £28,000, a £23,000 roller and various other industrial power tools totalling £20,000. While this type of theft is usually non-violent, owners' lives can be occasionally be put at risk if they catch the thieves in the act. In April last year, a farmer from East Worldham was knocked over attempting to stop thieves from stealing his £2,000 trailer. Ralph Baker, who is retired but lives on Oaklands Farm, suffered extensive bruising and a serious cut to his right eye when two men in a four-wheel drive vehicle, who are still being sought by police for attempted murder, drove over him in the early hours of Easter Monday. The 73-year-old man escaped, miraculously, without a broken bone, but the incident highlighted the fact that the criminals involved in plant machinery theft can become extremely violent if cornered. In the 15 months before the theft that nearly cost him his life, Mr Baker had two trailers and two quad-bikes stolen in similar circumstances.