RESIDENTS in the borough are being urged to pick up a pen and write off crime.

As part of a campaign to combat burglary, police officers in Bury will be handing out free Operation Magpie UV marker pens to mark valuables from televisions to mobile phones.

By simply writing home postcodes and house number/names on an item, which is only visible under an ultra-violet light, it enables the police to easily identify the rightful owners of stolen property.

There are 4,000 pens available and they can be collected from all police stations in the borough. They will also be distributed by officers to burglary hotspots in Bury and to various tenants and residents associations.

In addition, the Bury Crime Prevention Panel Trailer will be visiting a number of locations on various dates to distribute the pens, 'coded for keeps' leaflets, and window stickers warning offenders that the property inside has been UV marked and is traceable.

The Bury Crime Prevention Panel Trailer will be distributing the UV marker pens between 10am and 4pm: tomorrow: Thatch Leach Lane Park, Whitefield; Sunday: Victoria Lane estate, Whitefield (near the Metrolink Station).

October 1: Kershaw Centre, Deal Street, Bury; October 2: Asda, Pilsworth; October 9 and November 10: Acorn House, Willow Street, Bury; November 13 and December 4: Asda, Pilsworth; December 8 and January 14, 2004: Acorn House, Willow Street, Bury.