THIEVES have been targeting stone paving flags from beside the Sankey Canal - prompting St Helens Council to embark on a a new crime fighting plan.

The local authority has teamed up with crime-prevention company SmartWater in a bid to protect the York stone and "destruction of the borough's heritage," says a senior councillor.

Paving along the canal has now been sprayed with forensic traceable liquid, SmartWater, which carries an identifiable forensic code and can assist police in linking criminals to thefts. 

The liquid will confirm that the York stone belongs to the council, and also exactly where it was taken from. 

The move comes in response to an increase in paving stones, worth hundreds of pounds per square metre, being stolen from the area over a number of years. 

St Helens Council’s Cabinet Member for Green, Smart and Sustainable  Borough, Councillor Seve Gomez-Aspron, said: “Sankey Canal is a vital part of the borough’s history and this blatant destruction of our heritage is 
unacceptable.

"Drastic action needed to be taken. 

“We needed something that would act as a deterrent and combat this type of crime, and that would also assist police in finding and arresting those responsible."