SHOPKEEPERS in Consett are launching a scheme to put town centre criminals under the thumb.

A partnership of Durham Police and retailers is introducing a thumbprint signature scheme, designed to keep credit card fraudsters at bay.

Durham is thought to be the first force in England and Wales to introduce the scheme.

The project, which is to be introduced in October, requires customers paying for goods with credit or debit cards to leave a thumbprint as proof of their identity.

A similar pilot scheme is running in Darlington and has so far proved a success.

PC Phil Hinton, Consett town centre beat manager, is behind the partnership.

"If a transaction turns out to be fraudulent then, obviously, we have an important piece of evidence against the person responsible," he said.

"It will be yet another obstacle we can put across the path of those who use stolen credit or debit cards.

The retailers and police involved hope it will build on the success of a radio scheme linking shops to the closed circuit television centre.

"All the retailers have been trained to use the radios and standard techniques to identify suspects," said PC Hinton.

"The would-be thieves can then be picked up by the television cameras and their activities monitored."

He said that the network was already proving a deterrent to shoplifters looking for an easy haul.

"Since the radio scheme was introduced, there has been a huge drop in the amount of stock being stolen from one supermarket and we are getting very positive feed-back from everyone in the commercial community who is linked to the scheme," he said.

"Thieves now know they are being watched and that clearly serves as a deterrent."

All the major retailers in Consett have joined the partnership, along with a growing number of smaller businesses.

Durham Police said the radio network looks likely to be extended to cover two dozen of the town's pubs and clubs later this year