COMMUNITIES in East Hampshire are being protected by a police operation to reduce rural crime.

Operation Falcon, undetaken by Hampshire Country Watch officers, aims to reduce instances of heating oil theft and fuel theft from properties and farms.

And officers have offered advice to help keep the thieves at bay.

To safeguard heating oil, officersm suggest using a remote electronic level gauge, investing in some good locks and security lighting and turning off the control switches that regulate the flow of oil and isolate the electricity when the tank is not in use.

To guard fuel, park in a well-lit, well-used area, try to park with the fuel tank facing the road so passing traffic makes it less of a target, and park lorries close to other lorries so the fuel tanks are closer together and not so accessible.