THE fight against crime in south Worcestershire has been boosted with three new faces to help tackle problems in rural areas and amongst businesses.

South Worcestershire Community Safety Partnership has appointed two new business and rural crime liaison officers, Clive Parsons to cover Wychavon, and Ian White Malvern Hills, with the pair sharing the workload in Worcester City.

And Simon Thompson has been appointed as co-ordinator to oversee the scheme. All three are ex-police officers with more than 70 years of experience between them.

The new team will be responsible for helping to set up schemes such as horse, farm and shop watch, visiting victims of crime to offer advice and crime prevention devices such as alarms, and gathering information on suspicious vehicles, people and incidents which can be shared with police.

The scheme is being funded by £200,000 from the West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner Bill Longmore, who has pledged to invest £1.5 million tackling rural and business crime.

Some of the money is also being spent on new CCTV cameras which can be used to help catch fly-tippers and other criminals.

The National Farmers Union estimates rural crime cost £890,000 in Worcestershire during 2014 while nationally business crime costs £511 million a year.

Richard Morris, the community ambassador for the police and crime commissioner, said: "The new team has extensive experience in investigating and preventing crime and will be a valuable asset in developing solutions to drive down crime and provide support to the business and rural communities."