WILTSHIRE police are going dotty over Christmas trees. The force is encouraging the use of microdot technology in the battle against crime and a Christmas tree grower has been one of the first to benefit.

"The theft of trees is an ever-increasing problem towards the end of the year and, in the past, it was very difficult to identify whether trees offered for sale were imported, grown locally or stolen," said a police spokesman.

"This year, one plantation owner secretly marked his trees with microdots that are widely used for the identification of domestic goods and motor vehicle parts.

"While other marking systems are also suitable for different applications, the Alpha-Dot system was found to lend itself to the specific problem, where the markings had to be covert and non-invasive. By marking growing trees in this way, thieves will have to find and remove all of any number of dots, whereas the police need only find one to identify where the tree came from.

"The microdots are not visible to the naked eye and will not affect trees purchased legitimately, but police can find and read them using special equipment already supplied."

The owner who took part in the trial last Christmas has reported no thefts from his plantation - he believes the signs around the site warned off thieves who have plagued him in recent years.

Anyone interested in marking schemes should contact the community safety department on 01722 411444.