POLICE in Wyre Forest have launched an initiative to combat the growing number of shed break-ins in the area.

Officers will be at Aggborough Allotment in Kidderminster on Wednesday, April 1, between 10am and 12noon, to enable residents to bring their property to get it marked, get a free shed alarm and receive crime prevention advice.

This is the first in a number of such events to be held in Wyre Forest to help raise awareness of the issue of shed and garage burglaries and the need for better security.

In the last 12 months, there have been 235 break-ins of sheds and domestic garages.

Between October 2014 and March 2015, burglaries of such properties rose by a third with 39 more incidents occurring than during the same period the previous year.

At the events, people can bring in their items and have them permanently marked to ensure they are traceable if stolen. Officers will also be handing out free shed alarms.

Funding was secured from both the Police and Crime Commissioner’s Local Initiative Fund and Safer Wyre Forest to run the scheme.

Insp Edd Williams, from Kidderminster Police, said: “We are experiencing a rise in shed breaks so we want to raise awareness of this and the need to invest in security.

“People keep a lot of high value items in sheds but spend very little on securing sheds and outbuildings.

“So we are running a series of events over the coming weeks to ensure the public takes every possible measure to protect their property.”