TECHNOLOGY used to help solve the high-profile murder of 11-year-old Rhys Jones will be piloted in Witney.

The trial – due to begin on Monday – will be the first time Thames Valley Police has used Bluetooth mobile phone messages to communicate with the public.

Those with Bluetooth on their mobile phones will receive messages reminding them to make sure their drinks are not spiked in bars and clubs, or to keep their belongings close.

It could also be used to appeal for information about crimes in the area.

The scheme will be trialled in the town centre, in partnership with Thames Valley Police and West Oxfordshire District Council.

Danielle Hilton, communications officer for West Oxfordshire Safer Communities Partnership, said a Bluetooth message could be picked up by anyone within a 300 sq m area.

She said: “It’s about making people aware of their surroundings and feeling safe in their environment.

“The idea is to change the message each day and move it around to different areas.”

It could also be used by Police Community Support Officers (PCSOs) to let people know about neighbourhood surgeries.

Daniel Newton, 22, of Burwell Drive, Witney, said: “This is a good thing.

“A text message will probably be a lot more forceful than a leaflet.

“If someone gets a text message, they will definitely read it, but if someone hands you a leaflet, you probably wouldn’t take it.”

It will cost Thames Valley Police £100 a week to hire the equipment. The software – which costs between £2,000 and £3,000 to buy – was used by Merseyside police to appeal for information to help find the killer of schoolboy Rhys Jones.

Sean Mercer, 18, was convicted last December of shooting the youngster dead outside a Liverpool pub in 2007.

It has also been used by London’s Metropolitan police.

If the week-long pilot is successful, the scheme will be adopted across west Oxfordshire and could be rolled out in Oxford and the rest of the county.

Pc Simon Towers, the partnership’s antisocial behaviour manager, said: “It could have a variety of usages, whether for community messages, alerting people or making them aware.”

Ron Spurs, principal community safety and licensing officer at West Oxfordshire District Council, said the number of people who had Bluetooth on their mobile phones would determine how successful the trial was.

He said: “People see leaflets and either read them or don’t bother. And I think the majority don’t – they get fed up with leaflets.

“This is something new and people may like it.”

If given the go-ahead, it could be permanently installed in weeks.

Jason Williams, 19, of Cogges, Witney, was sceptical about the idea.

He said: “Bluetooth does run down your battery and I don’t know if it’s used much any more.