NORTHUMBRIA Police are giving students a helping hand with their marks, in a pilot scheme which could be extended nationally.

The marks in question are those placed on students' personal property so that it can be recovered more easily in case of theft or loss.

Students move around from halls of residence to rented accommodation, so using a post code and house number is notpractical. Property can be marked with a student's home address, but that is impractical for the large number of students from overseas.

PCs Tom O'Reilly and Keith Williamson have developed a scheme in which students are allocated a property marking number which is personal to them and their university.

The officers work full-time at, and are partly funded by, Sunderland University.

The scheme is also supported by PCs Dave Slade and Paul Williamson, designated officers for Newcastle University and the University of Northumbria.

PC O'Reilly said: "Each student will ultra violet-mark their property with their registration number preceded by three letters indicating which university they attend. Each eight-digit registration number is unique. It will be held by the universities on computer for several years."

It is hoped that eventually the system will operate in universities throughout the country.

"We will be informing property officers in other forces throughout the country, so hopefully, the numbers will be recognised," said PC O'Reilly.