Fears that a specialised gang is stealing from tack rooms around Winchester have prompted a radical suggestion from the detective behind Hampshire Horsewatch.

DI David Collings believes the only way to tackle rural crime is for bands of villagers to patrol the streets at night.

"It's not about vigilantes; it's about physically being seen in the countryside," he said.

"There's an awfully big area out there where there's no cover and there's no reason why members of the public cannot walk up and down on patrol. The equine community has to be more responsible."

He said too much money and effort was being spent on trying to cut muggings and car crime, but equine crime went unnoticed. "I set up Horsewatch because the approach to equine-related crime was minimal," said Mr Collings. "It comes and goes, but, inevitably, it is a specialised area and people go out knowing what they want to steal and where from.

"It's a problem and recently in the county there have been a lot of equine thefts."

Raids have been carried out on stables in Alresford, Bighton and Kings Worthy this month, with valuable horse riding equipment being taken. Unusually, the thefts are concentrated in a small area, said Mr Collings.

Fiona Honeyman, from Hampshire police, said saddles can cost up to £2,500 and are often specially designed for each rider. She urged owners to be aware of what was going on.

"Take precautions to make sure things are locked up and tack postcoded," she said.

Marking kit can help police get recovered goods back to their owner as soon as possible, she said. It is also believed the gang may be using an estate car as a getaway vehicle.

Mr Collings, part of the force crime unit, also believes if his scheme is successful for Horsewatch, it could be extended elsewhere. "If anyone comes up with a better scheme, I am only to happy to listen to it," he added.

Horsewatch is a community partnership, where horse or tack thefts are recorded on a single website - www.nfed.co.uk. The website also gives information about tack marking.

Police co-ordinate crime information and help raise awareness of equine crime.