RESIDENTS are set to benefit from a crackdown on crime by having their personal belongings DNA marked.

More than 500 homes in the Woolwich Dockyard Estate are at the centre of a pilot scheme run by Greenwich police.

Officers from the Woolwich Dockyard Safer Neighbourhood team are visiting residents on the estate over the next three weeks to offer them a free DNA marking kit for their belongings.

The do-it-yourself kit comes in the form of a paste-like solution which leaves a permanent mark and shows-up under ultraviolet light.

Officers have 2,000 pots of the solution, called Selectamark, and each one contains DNA properties as well as microdots which carry an individual reference number.

The DNA marking means police can easily trace stolen items back to the owner.

Woolwich Dockyard was selected for the pilot on account of its high crime rate.

Woolwich police Inspector Jim Moore says around 10 property-related thefts happen on the estate every month.

He said: "When you consider there are around 500 properties on the estate, this means 120 of them are victim to some kind of property theft a year.

"This is a high figure and we are confident this scheme will help us reduce this level as much as 20 per cent."

Officers from the team are running the £141,000 scheme under the leadership of Sergeant Martin Wray.

The month-long initiative, which began on March 1, is aiming to tackle residential burglary, theft from and of motor vehicles and anti-social behaviour.

Four solar-powered talking signs have also been installed on the estate at a cost of around £2,600 which are activated when people move within their range.

The talking signs come with a variety of messages which can be changed in minutes.

The signs warn criminals the area is DNA marked and also remind motorists to keep valuables safe when they leave their vehicles.

One resident on the estate, Tina Patrick, 30, said: "My house has been broken into before and I didn't get anything back.

"I think this is a brilliant idea and I will be marking all my belongings."