POLICE officers are inviting Banbury residents to have their catalytic converters security marked.

It comes after a trading estate in the town was hit nearly once a week over the past year, with thieves stealing £800,000 of goods, including £13,600 worth of catalytic converters.

Anyone concerned about having their catalytic converter stolen can go to the Just Car Clinic on the Thorpe Industrial Estate, to have it security marked.

A unique reference number is etched on to the converter and the registered keeper of the vehicle then enters their details on to a national database.

If police find a marked stolen catalytic converter it can be traced back to the owner. A sticker is also supplied for the vehicle’s window to act as a deterrent.

Catalytic converters convert gases in vehicles’ exhausts into less toxic ones.

Worth up to £100 each, they are targeted by criminal gangs as they contain platinum.

Thefts of the converters have risen in most parts of Oxfordshire over the past year, from nine to 23 in Cherwell, from nine to 18 in Oxford, and from 11 to 32 in South Oxfordshire and the Vale of the White Horse.

Only West Oxfordshire has seen a decrease, from 15 to nine.

The security marking is open to all and takes place on Saturday, June 2, between 10am and 4pm.