NEW ways to stop thieves stealing number plates are being pioneered by police.

More than 200 drivers in Maidstone turned out to take advantage of the police’s Safe Plates initiative, which aims to stop thieves stealing number plates.

Across the UK, police have been experiencing cases of plate theft, where criminals take them from cars and use them to clone vehicles.

The result is that innocent motorists can incur speeding fines, congestion charges and other offences.

In order to combat this, police in Maidstone have discovered an effective way to deter thieves by using anti-tamper screws.

These are one-way screws and once fitted they cannot easily be removed. The screws are then covered with a security cap as an added deterrent.

A total of 204 drivers turned up at Sainsbury’s car park in Maidstone to have new screws fitted in their number plates and 51 sets of screws were also given out to shoppers who did not have their cars with them.

Maidstone crime reduction officer John Grant said: “We are the first area in Kent to run this initiative which means Mid Kent is leading the way in preventing number plate theft.

“Victims of this kind of crime might not be aware until speeding, parking and congestion penalty charge tickets arrive on the doormat. You then have the difficulty and inconvenience of convincing the authorities that it was not your car.”

Any motorists who missed the roadshow can contact Mr Grant on 01622 604383 for a crime prevention pack with the anti-tamper screws included.