HORSE riders in Bromley are being asked to deter thieves by branding their saddles and riding equipment.

A partnership between Bromley council and police has paid £5,000 for two branding tools to mark leather goods with a unique identifying code, that makes the item less attractive to thieves and easier to trace.

At the launch of the initiative in Biggin Hill around 50 people had possessions marked.

They including members of the Greenacres Riding School - the biggest public stable in the Darwin ward.

Marked items are entered onto a police database and the owners are given certificates to prove ownership.

The Safer Bromley Partnership has sponsored the initiative by Darwin Safer Neighbourhood Team, which is aimed at reducing the number of burglaries targetting equipment associated with horses and livestock - such as saddles, other riding tack and animal transporters.

The head of the Darwin Safer Neighbourhood Team, Sergeant Katey Martin, said: "Darwin is a very unique ward in the Metropolitan Police District and as such requires bespoke policing solutions to its problems.

"We have 52 stable blocks on the ward and needed an innovative solution to deal with the theft of saddles and other tack."

Chair of the Darwin Safer Neighbourhood panel, Judith Cross said: "The panel have been fully supportive of this innovative project to address the needs of one of the borough's most rural communities.

"The team researched crime prevention approaches and identified the Safer Stables project, which has been run successfully in Surrey.

"Then we put a proposal to the partnership and the funding was agreed.

"I would encourage as many people as possible to contact the team to have their saddles or other tack registered".

If you are interested in having your saddles marked, or if your stable is on Darwin ward and you wish to register your stables, you should call the Darwin Safer Neighbourhood Team 020 8721 2603.