Firm pays for property marking in whole Market Drayton street after thefts
A housing company has paid for all residents in one road to have their property marked and recorded after an 82-year-old woman was the victim of a sneak thief.
The Meres and Mosses Housing Association has paid an undisclosed amount for all residents in Charter Court, Market Drayton, to use SmartWater forensic kits.
The company was asked if it could help after a pensioner had £30 stolen from her purse in her home on Charter Court last month while she watered her plants outside.
The thief entered her home through the kitchen door and stole the money from her purse inside a handbag.
Ann Sutcliffe, executive director for neighbourhoods at Shropshire Housing Group, which Meres and Mosses Housing Association is a part of, said the company was happy to step in.
She said: "The provision of SmartWater forensic marking kits to the residents of Charter Court was recommended by the residents' association, TARCA, in response to a recent theft. We were very happy to fund this as it is a simple but effective way of protecting people's property and it is a strategy which has been successfully employed in other areas where Meres and Mosses Housing Association tenants live.
Kit
"Thieves know that SmartWater is bad news for them and it brings peace of mind for residents, most of whom took up the offer of a marking kit. We will also be using one to mark the property in the community room at Charter Court."
The latest theft came just weeks after a thief broke into a 97-year-old woman's home in the town and stole her life savings.
The victim of that raid noticed £6,000 was missing along with a diamond ring and her passport when she returned to her home in Smithfield Road on June 6.
Police believe it was linked to a man who had called asking if she wanted her guttering cleared.
Officers said the incidents served as a reminder to keep doors locked.
