TRAFFORD people are this week being urged to join a police scheme to beat car crime- as long as they are old enough.

The '25 Scheme' is open to any drivers over the age of 25 and costs just £1.

With membership, the motorist receives two stickers to place inside the front and rear windscreens of their car which indicate that the vehicle should normally only be driven by someone over 25 years of age.

Motorists who display the scheme stickers do so to alert police officers, who will stop drivers in the car that are under 25 and challenge them.

It sounds simple but it really does work to deter potential thieves, says Altrincham's police community safety officer PC Tony Crompton.

He told SAM on Tuesday: "The idea for the scheme came about after car crime figures were analysed and the 25 year mark gave us an indication of trends.

"We found that 80 per cent of vehicle theft is committed by persons under 25, whilst 70 per cent of the victims are over 25."

And the '25 Scheme' has provided significant results since its introduction, he says..

"What we have found is that many young car thieves don't even try to steal vehicles with 25 scheme stickers displayed as they know they are very likely to be stopped by the police."

To join the scheme, just pop into your local police station with £1."

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