A Northumbria Police superintendent has been recognised with a prestigious national award for his determination in battling rural crime.

Last January, Supt Andy Huddleston was appointed to lead the National Construction Agriculture Theft Team (NCATT) and the National Rural Crime Unit.

In just 18 months, NCATT has played a vital role in recovering agriculture and construction equipment valued at more than £10 million.

More than 700 officers nationally have benefitted from the unit's training.

In recognition of his efforts, Supt Huddleston was the 2023-2024 recipient of the IAATI UK Peter Leigh Plant and Agricultural Award, presented to him at the force’s Training and Communications Centre in Ponteland on July 8 by IAATI director Iain McKinlay.

From January 2023, he had a hand in the creation of the National Rural Crime Unit which has recovered more than £10.4M of stolen equipment.

Supt Huddleston said: "I am genuinely humbled to receive this award, but also quietly pleased the diligence and the excellent work of our team has been recognised.

"The results from NCATT show the massive strides we have taken in such a short period of time."

The long term fight against rural crime may have been profoundly impacted by the Equipment Theft Prevention Act 2023, receiving Royal Assent in July last year, a legislation that mandates the fitting of immobilisation and forensic marking on all agricultural and construction machinery marketed in the UK.

This mandate is expected to parallel the immobilisation of vehicles, a move that in the past led to a national decrease of 46 per cent in stolen vehicles.

Speaking of the award, Michael Briggs, president of the IAATI, said: "We are absolutely delighted to have presented Supt Huddleston with the award on behalf of the association.

"The nomination was not only made by our members but, most importantly, by key stakeholders in the construction and agricultural industries, all of whom recognised his passion and enthusiasm in tackling the issues they face head on.

"On behalf of our UK board, I would like to congratulate Supt Huddleston and his team for the significant impact they have already had in such a short space of time."