POLICE in Clitheroe are to draft in cutting-edge technology, currently being used to combat terrorism in London, to crack down on travelling criminals.

They have been given cash by the Government's Safer Communities Initiative to buy an Automatic Recognition Number Plate Reader.

The special machines automatically detect the origin and status of vehicles, particularly "marked" vehicles recorded as stolen, or suspected of involvement in criminal activity.

The machines have been used to throw a "ring of steel" around London and are linked to the capital city's sophisticated CCTV network.

Cars entering London are constantly monitored by the machines.

Police are fighting a running battle against travelling criminals, who journey to the Ribble Valley from as far afield as Bristol and Glasgow for "rich pickings".

They are costing residents thousands of pounds a year in the theft of vehicles, agricultural machinery, rare stone and garden features. Travelling criminals have been targeted by the multi-agency Ribble Valley Crime and Disorder Partnership, comprising Lancashire Constabulary, Ribble Valley Council and East Lancashire Health Authority, which secured the £7,000 to buy the machine.

Inspector Bob Ford, of Clitheroe police, said: "A travelling criminal is anyone living outside the area, who enters with the sole intent of committing crime. The Ribble Valley is considered a soft touch and rich pickings for travelling criminals, who enter the area to commit domestic and commercial burglary, steal items from parked cars, steal vehicles and shoplift.

"The new device will scan vehicle number plates and check them against the police national computer. If the car is registered out of the area, stolen or suspected of involvement in any criminal activity, it will alert us immediately. It will be used in patrol cars on a mobile basis."

The Accrington road policing unit already has two of the Automatic Recognition Number Plate Readers, which were recently used during a blitz in Union Road, Oswaldtwistle, leading to 12 arrests.

Sergeant Stuart Isherwood said: "We are obtaining good results from using the new technology. It is alerting us to potential criminal activity and is another effective measure in our fight against crime."