POLICE say they are winning the war against car thieves -- thanks to a pioneering computer system.

The Lancashire force became the first in the country to secure a contract to test the Automatic Number Plate Recognition System (ANPR).

The device, fitted to patrol cars, allows police to monitor the registration plate of every car which drives past them.

The recorded data is fed into a main computer which is linked to national records, enabling police to instantly recognise and stop stolen vehicles.

And 12 months on, police chiefs say they are staggered by the effectiveness of the special electronic eye.

Inspector Peter Stas of Lancashire's Motorway Police Unit said the device was being used to help catch both disqualified drivers and stolen cars, as well as identifying cars police wish to trace.

Insp Stas said: "The new ANPR equipment is already proving to be an excellent tool for tracing criminals and stolen cars."

Manufacturers of the ANPR Petards Mobile Intelligence, a subsidiary of Screen plc, are confident the system will soon spread to police forces across the country.