A new weapon against mobile phone theft has been hailed as an instant success by police.

Last week, about 90 officers were issued with pocket ultraviolet torches, which reveal if items have been marked by invisible UV pen, and made their first arrests using it within 48 hours.

Four people in a car were challenged by officers on Saturday in Jackdaw Lane, east Oxford.

The new gadget showed a video recorder and CD player in the boot had been marked with a post code, and checks revealed they had been stolen in a recent burglary. The four people in the car were arrested, and three of them have since been charged with a number of offences. Crime reduction officer Pc John Mulloy said: "It's an excellent start. It is a warning to offenders that if they steal property the chances are it is going to be marked. If it is checked with a UV lamp they will be caught and arrested.

"Now it's a case of members of the public marking their property with our help."

The UV torches were introduced as part of an ongoing initiative to combat increasing mobile phone crime.

About 3,500 have already been marked with the owner's postcodes, and police are particularly focusing on students in Oxford.