Huddersfield: Retailers using smart spray in fight against shoplifting

Huddersfield BID say the move has been a collaboration with West Yorkshire Police and West Yorkshire Combined Authority

Retailers in Huddersfield are using a smart spray to invisibly mark high-value items to deter shoplifters.

Small amounts of the solution, which cannot be seen by the naked eye but glows under ultraviolet light, is being used on items including electronics, jewellery and perfumes.

Those behind the scheme said it created a link between goods and businesses and helped to retrieve stolen stock.

Huddersfield BID said 12 businesses in the town have signed up so far.

They include music and entertainment retailer HMV, footwear firm Deichmann and giftshop Handmade in Huddersfield.

The business improvement district, which funded the move, said it had worked with West Yorkshire Police and West Yorkshire Combined Authority to launch it.

Posters and signs drawing attention to the scheme are being put up around Huddersfield town centre

Signs are being put up around the town centre and inside participating stores to make people aware of the technology.

A spokesperson for Huddersfield's Entertainer toy shop, which is also participating, said: "Retail theft in Huddersfield has definitely risen over the last few years and we feel it is likely to get worse with the cost-of-living crisis taking hold on people more and more.

"The scheme should hopefully act as a deterrent and will help us retrieve stock, therefore limiting our yearly loss."