FARMERS are being urged to put up signs telling people how to get to their houses - because police officers are getting lost.

Officers in the Ribble Valley are issuing letters to farmers and people in remote houses - like barn conversions - appealing for help after new officers struggled to find certain properties.

Fire crews today backed the idea but farmers warned that putting up signs could make them a target for criminals at a time when travelling thieves are flooding the area.

The back-to-basics plea comes despite state-of-the-art digital maps being available to police, but even they don't show the location of many rural properties.

In some cases, barn conversions and other buildings which have been brought back into life haven't been recorded on the maps, leaving officers to rely on local knowledge.

Inspector Bob Ford, of Clitheroe Police, said the problem had arisen as a result of a shake-up in policing which had resulted in officers going out to see more people.

The newly appointed community support officers, who work for the police, fire and ambulance services, are behind the letter.

Insp Ford said: "In the past we have relied on local knowledge. But with more officers now going out to places, it is becoming a problem because some farms just aren't sign-posted from the road.

"We have written to people living in remote farms asking them to consider putting up a sign to help us.

"In case of an emergency, a few minutes to find somewhere remote can make all the difference."

Lancashire Fire and Rescue spokesman said: "Our mapping equipment is pretty sophisticated but we certainly back what is being said here."

But Bashall Eaves farmer Harry Backhouse, a former councillor, said: "A lot of farms do have signs and there is probably a reason why some don't. Crime is becoming a big issue for farms and criminals go to farms where they take things like power tools."

Thomas Binns, a Downham farmer and North-West livestock chairman for the National Farmers' Union, said: "I think there certainly is a case for making sure that the emergency services know who is living where and made aware of any changes.

"Overall, it isn't that hard to spot a farm, even the most remote ones, because their access on to the main highway is normally quite obvious."