A BROMSGROVE village has become the largest 'We Don’t Buy Crime' village with more than 3000 forensic property marking kits now registered by local residents.

In 2016 Wythall Parish Council became the latest parish council to sign up to become a 'We Don’t Buy Crime' town which sees whole communities protected with SmartWater forensic property marking.

Now, 3,283 kits have been registered making the village the largest We Don’t Buy Crime area across Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire.

As part of the initiative signs are also displayed around the village to send a clear message to criminals that the area is protected.

The use of property marking can significantly increase the chances a thief will get caught.

The towns and villages initiative sees an investment from local town and parish councils, supported by West Mercia Police and Crime Commissioner John Campion, to provide residents with a free forensic property marking kit.

Inspector Ram Aston leads on We Don’t Buy Crime on behalf of West Mercia Police.

He said: “We’re delighted that so many property marking kits have been registered in Wythall which now makes it our biggest We Don’t Buy Crime area.”

PCC John Campion said, “I am proud of the team spirit and sense of community in Wythall, who have come together to tackle crime and the fear of crime.

"The more people that use crime prevention measures, the more effective they are at deterring crime as shown by a decrease in burglaries.

"This partnership, which has been spear headed by Cllr Adam Kent, shows how successful crime prevention can be."