MORE than 200 homes across Lowestoft have signed up to a pilot scheme for Suffolk.With a spate of house break-ins and attempted burglaries around the town in recent months, Smartwater was launched in Lowestoft in December - and police chiefs this week hailed its inception as a success.

MORE than 200 homes across Lowestoft have signed up to a pilot scheme for Suffolk.

With a spate of house break-ins and attempted burglaries around the town in recent months, Smartwater was launched in Lowestoft in December - and police chiefs this week hailed its inception as a success.

In the space of two months, over 200 households have already taken up the offer of free SmartWater marking on their property. The colourless, odourless liquid comes with a warning to burglars - to beware - as it forensically links thieves to crime scenes and stolen property.

Police in Lowestoft teamed up with Waveney Community Safety Partnership and Waveney Local Strategic Partnership before Christmas to unveil the new scheme, and a police spokesman said: 'The offer of free SmartWater marking is an ongoing process and the programme continues to be rolled out across the town. When you receive a leaflet (as Smartwater reaches your street) this will give you information about how you can take up this free offer.'

Detectives also revealed this week that house burglaries across the town had dropped in recent weeks - but despite this, police patrols continue to be carried out and householders are being warned to remain vigilant.

'Although the number of house burglaries has been down in the past two weeks, officers are continuing to work to bring offenders for previous crimes to justice,' a police spokesman said. 'Police are continuing with both uniformed and plain clothes patrols in the north and south of the town and would continue to urge anyone noticing any suspicious behaviour to call immediately using 999.'