ELDERLY residents in Handbridge will be jingling their bells to combat pickpockets.
Cheshire West and Chester Council community safety wardens Rachel Bentham and Sarah Coombs visited Claverton Court to issue residents with bells, which will ring if anyone tries to steal their purse or wallet.
The Cheshire Police initiative was launched last month and has seen thousands of bells, which are fitted on clips so that they can be fastened to belongings, handed out in the city centre. The project has been financed by Chester Against Business Crime (CABC).
Carl Humphreys, police community support officer, said: “It’s a simple and effective way to combat purse-dipping.
“They know people can easily be distracted at a time like this and they will take advantage of the opportunity to slip a purse out of a bag. The bells act as a simple alarm.
“However skilful the thief may be, the slightest movement of the purse will set the bells jingling and alert the person carrying it.
“The purse-dippers know this and will avoid targeting a purse which is protected in this way.”
