Police in Burton-on-Trent have expressed delight at a huge uptake of SmartWater among householders as part of a newly-launched scheme.
A project which provides free SmartWater marking kits to residents has been extended to the Shobnall, Horninglow and Outwoods areas of the town and in just two week almost 500 households took up the opportunity to boost their security.
The initiative is being run by the East Staffordshire Safety Partnership and will see householders use the colourless SmartWater forensic liquid to mark their valuable property with a code unique to each address.
If their property is ever stolen, the police will be able to identify it with the use of ultraviolet light and trace it back to its rightful owners.
Chief Inspector Steve Maskrey, East Staffordshire policing commander, told the Burton Mail newspaper: “It's a fantastic effort from everybody involved.
“The number we've managed to register has surprised me and the enthusiasm they've shown is fantastic.”
Asked by the newspaper why he thought residents had been so positive about the scheme, Chief Inspector Maskrey added: “We've got economic hardship in the town, as there is across the UK, and any new initiative which provides a positive message and will, no doubt, discourage offenders from breaking into people's properties, has to be a good thing.”