Police in Lincolnshire are due to take delivery of a fleet of 4x4 vehicles to combat rural crime.

The 4x4s have been funded by the county's Police and Crime Commissioner in an effort to step up the fight against crime in the countryside.

A blueprint to tackle rural crime is being drawn up by commissioner Marc Jones in conjunction with senior officers.

The nine new Ford Kugas are expected to arrive later this year after Mr Jones made the budget available for the vehicles.

    See also: Police in joint battle against rural crime

Earlier this month, he published a plan, called Safer Together, setting out his priorities for the next four years.

In the Community Safety, Policing and Criminal Justice Plan for Lincolnshire Mr Jones sets out the actions he will be taking to help ensure communities stay safe.

A crucial element is a drive for improved collaboration between the public, councils, health organisations and emergency bodies to ensure the best possible services across the county.

Four key principles involve community safety and prevention in partnership; listening and responding; protecting and supporting victims and the vulnerable; and policing that works.

Mr Jones hopes to create a single joined up approach to reducing offending and re-offending and establish integrated offender management to tackle challenging and prolific offenders

He also wants to create a coherent approach to managing offenders released from prison to maximise the chance of rehabilitation and reduce reoffending

Further support for citizen involvement will come through volunteers and neighbourhood, rural and farm watch schemes.

Mr Jones said he wanted to raise awareness of elder abuse and of those with learning difficulties or other vulnerabilities and identify and disrupt threats to vulnerable people.

He said he wanted to invest in appropriate equipment to meet the varied needs of policing a large and diverse county, much of which is sparsely populated.

"There's no doubt we have set out an ambitious plan for the next four years but I am determined that Lincolnshire has the very best services possible," said Mr Jones.

"We already have a force that is rated highly but I believe we can improve the services to our communities through smarter and innovative working and I am confident we can achieve that goal.

"We have already made a good start with a number of pioneering projects already underway or launching in the near future.

"But the police and my office cannot achieve these goals alone.

"We will need support from the public and a collaborative ethos from partners around the county and with that I really believe we can make our communities even safer."