A FARMER has spoken of the heart-stopping moment a gang of raiders rammed his car out of the way in a bid to escape.

Three farms in the Mundon and Latchingdon areas fell victim to a group of burglars between 9pm and midnight on Friday January 13.

The gang used grinders to break through padlocks and fences to steal a quad bike, chainsaw and other farming equipment as well as keys to a series of vehicles.

When one farmer called the police and attempted to block the gang’s exit, they used their Land Rover Discovery to ram his car out of the way before making their escape.

The farmer from Mundon, who asked to remain anonymous, said the incident had left them fearing for their safety.

He blasted the police’s “inability” to tackle rural crime on the Dengie Peninsula, claiming it took officers 40 minutes to arrive at the scene.

Residents said the Land Rover was spotted again in the area later on Saturday morning. The farmer said: “It genuinely has you scared for your safety, when you’re out here managing your farm and gangs like these come during the night.

“They know the police don’t want to come out here.

“It took 40 minutes for the police to come out when it first happened, and after they rammed my car and drove away I called them while following the car, but they didn’t come out at all.

“I hear all the time how people have less and less faith in them so they just don’t report it. These kind of incidents happen all the time around the Dengie, and if every single thing were to be reported and logged, the police wouldn’t be able to cope.”

As keys to the farming machinery were stolen, the farmers fear crooks will return to steal more.

CCTV images showing three of the gang, believed to number four or five, have been shared on social media.

The farmer added: “It’s the desperate case where you want to stand up and make a noise about it, but not invite it to fall back on you. People clearly want to improve the situation, but no-one wants to be threatened.

I’ve written to the police, councillors and our MP, and want to keep up the momentum and tackle the people who target places like us, because it won’t stop, and they will be back.”

An Essex Police spokesman said: “Police are investigating a report of a burglary at around 9pm on Friday, January 13 at a farm in Mundon.

“Locks, padlocks and chains on several out buildings and units had been broken and a number of items were stolen including tools, but it is not yet known how much in total was taken.”

The spokesman said calls were assessed on threat, harm, risk and vulnerability, but there may have been significant incidents elsewhere or a large number of priority calls at the time. Call Essex Police on 101, or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111, with information.