|
Published:
March 25, 2009
Exclusive:
Church turns to high-tech security system to protect lead roof
A
church near Burnham-On-Sea has become one of the first in the
south west to invest in a high-tech forensic security system to
prevent the theft of lead and copper from its roof.
Warning signs have been installed outside St Mary's Church in
Berrow to alert would-be thieves that SmartWater is in use.
Burnham-On-Sea.com
was first to report last
summer how thieves
had stolen large strips of lead worth thousands of pounds from
the roofs of Berrow Church and St Andrew's Church in Burnham.
 Angered
by the attacks, Berrow Church decided to install SmartWater, an
invisible, colourless liquid that shows up under UV light.
Thieves
risk being sprayed with the liquid, which contains a unique DNA-style
forensic code that proves an individual was at the scene of a
crime.
Once
dry, SmartWater is virtually impossible to remove from objects
or clothing and it remains on the skin for up to eight weeks.
It was also introduced at several supermarkets in Burnham and
Highbridge last
year.
Reverend
Sally Lacy from Berrow Church told Burnham-On-Sea.com this week:
"Introducing SmartWater has involved a significant investment
on our part, but it will hopefully act as a strong deterrent to
would-be thieves."
"It also satisfies insurance companies that we are doing
everything possible to protect our property."
Avon
and Somerset Police's crime prevention officer, PC Paul Morris,
said: "SmartWater is versatile and extremely effective. It
can be used to mark all kinds of property. It stays on the skin
for many weeks."
SmartWater
achieves a 100% conviction rate in courts and several hundred
criminals have already been caught and convicted so far across
the UK.
|
