AS theft and burglary seem to become a bigger and bigger worry to us all there are constant complaints that the only way to attack the problem is greater evidence of police activity - or more bobbies on the beat.

But some senior officers argue that numbers alone will never be enough to stem a rising tide.

Police must keep one step ahead of the criminals as they become ever more sophisticated in dreaming up ways of making a good living by stealing.

Today we report how a private individual and police officers are making effective use of both technology and ingenuity to deter criminals - without having to spend a fortune.

In Clitheroe the owner of a cyber cafe who was shaken by a burglary in which cash was stolen decided to rig his computers up basically so that they could defend themselves if the raiders (or anyone else criminally inclined) broke in to take them.

If anyone attempts to remove them without permission they will alert him - so he can call the police - and set off an ear splitting cacophony of sirens, barking dogs and machine gun fire.

If that doesn't deter the wrongdoers, it's difficult to think what will.

At the same time, police in the Ribble Valley and Burnley are spraying dry stone walls and stone ornaments with 'forensic codes' that glow under ultra violet light so that the crooks cashing in on the big demand for such stuff in gardens throughout the UK can be easily caught.

In the past, for obvious reasons, police have had real problems because even if they knew a likely offender and managed to stop him in a van loaded with stones, it was well nigh impossible for them to prove where the rocks came from - until now.

Both uses of technology show how easily we can all help to protect our own property and assist the police. It's the sort of lateral thinking we must see more of.