ANTI-burglary kits have been handed out to residents on the outskirts of the city, following a string of break-ins.

County councillor Andy Stafford has been giving away packs of traceable liquid, called SmartWater, in a bid to deter burglars.

He spent more than £6,000 of taxpayers' cash on the kits - in response to a spate of home burglaries in late 2016.

Mr Stafford, who represents the Claines division, which also covers Worcester's Northwick area, said: "We are doing this because of the burglaries we had. It was quite an unprecedented number.

"I'm using my divisional fund to roll-out SmartWater to residents. It's an invisible ultraviolet liquid. Each vial of SmartWater has its own combination of chemical markers.

"So if an item is stolen and the police recover it, they can shine a UV torch on it, recover the code and then link it to the owner's house."

Mr Stafford said the liquid can be used on small items, such as jewellery, which burglars often seek to steal.

He added that the packs come with stickers which residents can put up on their homes, to inform would-be criminals know that their valuables are protected by the technology.

Mr Stafford joined other councillors and police officers to hand out more than 150 SmartWater packs to residents at a meeting in Claines Church Hall on February 9.

They also registered the households with SmartWater.

The councillor spent £6,676 from his divisional fund on 750 SmartWater kits - and the police and crime commissioner provided an extra 250 packs.

Mr Stafford started delivering letters to locals, offering to drop off SmartWater at their homes, in November.

He made the investment after 25 burglaries in the Arboretum and Claines policing area in August 2016, followed by 15 in September 2016, compared to three in August 2018 and six in September 2018.

There has been a fresh spate of burglaries or attempted break-ins in Northwick in recent months.

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