SMART technology is helping to keep a college's equipment safe from thieves.

Darlington College officials have marked its valuables with DNA security chemicals which allow it to be traced if stolen.

Smartwater is an invisible ink which can only be seen under ultraviolet light and specialist equipment is used to read its unique DNA profile.

Darlington College estates manager Mick Gossage said: "If any of the equipment is stolen and is later recovered by police, the DNA marking identifies it as belonging to us.

"This means the police can then prosecute the offender and we get our equipment back. We have been busy marking everything from desk and laptops to cameras, in fact anything that could be deemed as being valuable to a potential thief."

Durham Police crime reduction officer, PC Stephen Rich, said: "One of the biggest problems we face when we seize stolen goods is tracing the owner.

"If we can't prove they are stolen then we have to give them back to the suspect and we can't prosecute them for theft. Smartwater means that it is easy to trace the owner and take the perpetrator to court."