Burglaries in Harlesden have plummeted by 86 per cent thanks to the anti-theft liquid

Brent & Kilburn Times: Cllr Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council, with a Chelsea pensionerCllr Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council, with a Chelsea pensioner (Image: Archant)

A war memorial in Willesden has been marked with anti-theft liquid to protect them from metal thieves at a special ceremony which took place today.

Cllr Muhammed Butt, leader of Brent Council, joined local school children and a Chelsea Pensioner to witness Lance Corporal Matt Croucher GC mark the war memorial at St Mary’s Church in Neasden Lane, Willesden, with SmartWater.

The ceremony is the first of its kind in Brent and over the next few months all of the borough’s war memorials that have any metal content will be marked with SmartWater.

Brent Police have recorded an 86 per cent reduction in burglaries in the area of Harlesden that has been marked with SmartWater in the last year.

Chef Superintendent Matthew Gardner, Brent Police borough commander, Cllr Lincoln Beswick MBE, Brent Council’s lead member for policing and community safety and members of the British Legion and Commonwealth War Graves Commission were also at the ceremony.