A NEW bid to stop thieves stealing stone from across Huddersfield has been launched.

The campaign – using the SmartWater chemical – follows a spate of crimes.

Thieves have been stripping old stones from walls and paths across many areas, notably Newsome.

Many of the walls and paths have been in use for hundreds of years. There is a ready market for traditional Yorkshire stone and the costs of the crimes have soared to many thousands of pounds.

Now Kirklees Council and Huddersfield South Neighbourhood Policing Team have joined forces to prevent theft of stone in the area ward.

Kirklees Safer Communities have acquired funding to protect walls in the area with SmartWater, a uniquely-coded forensic liquid which shows up under a UV lamp.

It means that stone merchants or police can easily identify whether stone is stolen and if so, can be traced back to its original location.

Sgt Danny Grosier, of West Yorkshire Police’s Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “Theft of stone is a growing problem nationally.

“The high cost of quarrying has led to criminal gangs seizing the opportunity and stealing stretches from pavements, statues, driveways, toppings and dry stone walls.

“Stone theft is seen by burglars as lower risk for a greater reward than a domestic burglary and we are starting to see a real shift in trends.”

The new blitz will see signs warning about SmartWater being put up around the area.

Letters are going to hundreds of homes, warning residents of dangers of stone theft and advising ways to protect their home and their property.

Clr Jean Calvert, Cabinet Member for Communities, said: “The uniquely coded SmartWater forensic liquid can be applied to buildings and walls.

“We know it works, a similar project which operated in the Valleys area recently led to a 50% decrease in incidents of stone theft.

“The funding we have has also meant that in addition to the Newsome project, we were able to purchase five SmartWater packs to help even more people and communities.”