Cut-price security gear for Dales residents

Operation Illuminate is a campaign aimed at helping people protect their properties from burglars by offering spotlights, timer switches, shed alarms and door chimes at reduced cost.

It usually runs through the winter and early spring months when the nights are darker but, due to its popularity, it has been extended.

The campaign, led by police and Derbyshire Dales District Council, is now heading back out to villages in the Bakewell area to give residents there a chance to get their hands on the cut-price kit.

Sergeant Andy Wordsworth, who is in charge of Safer Neighbourhood teams in the area, said: “Operation Illuminate is a great campaign and one that has been a big hit with people across the Derbyshire Dales.

“It’s all about helping people protect themselves from crime and by buying these low-cost items, they can deter burglars from targeting their homes at all.

“Our community is made up of a lot of small villages and we didn’t want anyone to miss out, so we’re planning visits over the summer to those places so people can make the most of it.”

Police from Safer Neighbourhood teams including Bakewell, Tideswell and Stanton, Youlgreave and White Peak Villages will be heading out on the roads in the mobile police station, which will be stocked with the crime prevention items.

Officers will also be speaking to residents about the police’s free messaging service, Derbyshire Alert.

The dates and destinations are:

Friday, June 7: Stoney Middleton (10am to 1pm) and Curbar (1pm to 3pm);

Thursday, June 27: Bakewell (10am to 3pm);

Wednesday, July 24: Birchover (10am to 1pm), Stanton-in-the-Peak (1pm to 3pm) and Stanton Lees (3pm to 4pm);

Thursday, August 22: Taddington (10am to 2pm).

Operation Illuminate is run as part of the Derbyshire Dales Community Safety Partnership, led by police and the district council.

Cllr Lewis Rose, leader of the district council and chairman of the Derbyshire Dales Community Safety Partnership, said: “Operation Illuminate goes from strength to strength and we are delighted to be helping to ensure more communities across the Derbyshire Dales get access to discounted crime prevention items to help maintain our district’s status as one of the safest places in the UK to live, work and visit.””

The crime prevention items on offer include:

Shed alarms £5 (RRP £8)

Indoor light bulbs £2 (RRP £4)

Outdoor light bulbs £5 (RRP £8)

Timer switches £1 (RRP £4)

Door chimes £1 (RRP £2)

For more information, call your local Safer Neighbourhood team on 101 or Derbyshire Dales District Council on 01629 761100.