A college is taking a tough stand against metal thieves who have cost it thousands of pounds and caused huge disruption.
Following police advice, Thomas Rotherham College, in Rotherham, has coated all of its vulnerable metal surfaces with SmartWater, as part of a multi-layered approach to beating the criminals.
The college has had lead stolen from several of its buildings in the last year as well as having metal plaques wrenched from its war memorial.
The problem of metal theft has grown across the country as demand for scrap metal has increased, along with the prices paid for it.
SmartWater has now been extensively applied to metal surfaces around the college which identifies the material as the establishment's property, giving scrap metal dealers no excuse for buying it.
SmartWater contains a unique forensic signature that will allow the police to trace any recovered metal back to its rightful owner and, once-applied, the colourless coating is virtually impossible to remove, even by burning.
Police in South Yorkshire are equipped with ultraviolet lights which can detect the presence of SmartWater and officers will be carrying out checks at scrap merchants' yards in the area, looking for SmartWater-marked material.
Thomas Rotherham College has also vowed to pursue any rogue metal dealers found to have bought material stolen from its sites through the civil courts and has said it would be willing to collaborate with other businesses, churches and homeowners affected by the problem in joint legal action.
College officer, Maurice Patterson, said: “Lead thieves cost taxpayers thousands of pounds and we will no longer tolerate this. These are not victimless crimes, but directly impact on the funds available for the education of local students by taking money away from education.
“Scrap dealers are knowingly accepting stolen metals. We aim to make life difficult and expensive for the rogue operators.”