I was horrified to hear last week that 12 lambs in a field south of Bramley were found dead and a further two later had to be put down due to their injuries – all mown over by a car.

It is absolutely shocking to think that someone would do this to the lambs which were less than a year old.

I know that a crime like this causes concerns, particularly in the farming community across the constituency, so I think it is worth reminding ourselves of the work that is currently going into this incident, policing in Surrey, and the country more broadly to ensure that people feel safe.

Surrey Police have acted quickly to respond to the extremely unusual and incredibly saddening incident with the lambs, and I know they have arrested someone in connection with it.

Local farmers contribute so much to our communities, so a member of my team attended a meeting with both farmers and police on Monday to understand concerns in relation to rural crimes and what can be done to prevent them. I have a series of actions to follow-up as a result, including another community meeting.

Since Conservative Police and Crime Commissioner Lisa Townsend was elected in 2021, she has done an excellent job increasing scrutiny of Surrey Police performance and ensuring that we keep trust in our local police.

As a result, Surrey remains one of the safest places in the country, with the fourth lowest overall crime rate in England and Wales, and the safest county in the South East – something we are very lucky to be able to say about our area.

Moreover, in 2019 the Conservatives committed in our manifesto to recruiting an additional 20,000 police officers– a target which we have hit in government. That means that we have an extra 200 new police officers compared to 2010 in Surrey, putting Surrey Police at the largest it has ever been. 

I am very aware that police numbers are so important to how safe we feel so know just how welcome these increases are. Nationally, overall crime has halved (excluding computer crime and fraud, which weren’t measured in 2010). 

However, if you ever do have any local safety concerns, Lisa Townsend and I are often in close contact so please do contact my office and we will be happy to do what we can to help.