A North Herts Neighbourhood Watch initiative was given a grant of £400 to send a clear message to burglars that the community are watching.

The scheme funded by North Herts Community Safety Partnership’s Joint Action Group will see stickers and street signs put up to reassure people in the district.

Those who have joined the Neighbourhood Watch Scheme can also sign up to the ‘Online Watch Link’ messaging system.

OWL is a shared, secure platform for the public which helps to keep people informed of what’s going on by sending the latest local crime alerts to subscribers, helping keep communities safe and reduce crime.

Keith Batchelor, vice chair of HertsWatch, said: “13 per cent of people in North Herts are already signed up to OWL receive Neighbourhood Watch messages about what is happening in their nearby area. Overall in Hertfordshire over 100,000 residents have now joined.”

If you wish to sign up please visit www.owl.co.uk/.