College students who rely on their bikes to get them around have been taking lessons from the police in keeping them safe with SmartWater.
Officers have been working with youngsters from Burnside Business and Enterprise College, in Wallsend, Tyne and Wear, to try to put an end to cycle thefts.
The students were given advice and instruction on how and where to apply SmartWater to their bikes and what the presence of the colourless forensically-coded liquid means to would-be thieves.
Each batch of SmartWater contains a unique code that allows the owner of the marked item, or items, to be traced quickly by police and which can prove the object is stolen when found in the possession of a thief.
Once-applied, it is virtually impossible to remove and has been proven as a deterrent that criminals are familiar with and prefer to stay away from. Police officers can quickly check for the presence of SmartWater using portable UV lights or equipment installed in many police stations.
Deputy headteacher of Burnside Business and Enterprise College, Richard Carr, said: “Burnside is happy as always to support the police in our community in protecting the bicycles which our students bring in to school as part of their daily travel.
“We are always keen to encourage both a fit and healthy lifestyle amongst our learners and if they know there is now an extra level of safety and protection of their property through schemes such as SmartWater, then we hope to see the number of students travelling by bike to school each day increase even further.”