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Fog cannons which cover criminals in a unique forensic spray are being rolled out in the stores of a supermarket hit by break-ins.

The Co-op has started to install Smartwater fog cannons in their stores in a bid to deter criminals from targeting their shops.

The device deploys a dense fog to obscure vision, while linking criminals and stolen goods back to the scene of a crime by covering them in a unique spray.

The Co-op, which has been targeted in a number of break-ins in North Wales this year- said the cannons are particularly useful in kiosk areas, which are regularly targeted due to their sale of age restricted products such as cigarettes and alcohol.

Once triggered by sensors, the fog obscures an intruder’s vision, and covers the criminal in a spray containing SmartWater’s unique forensic signature.

If stopped by police, the spray can still be detected on the criminal under a UV light, with the forensic signature specific to each incident.

(Image: Daily Record)

The trace is guaranteed to be left on the person's body for five years.

Andrew Needham, Co-op's head of retail loss and costs, said: “Safety and security is our number one priority.

"We know that violence and crime is about much more than statistics, it is about its impact on people’s lives and the communities in which they live and work.

"As a community-based organisation we see the impact of social issues in our stores, and we’re committed to playing our part and working together to do all we can to protect colleagues and make our communities safer.”

Florian Mattinson, Managing Director of SmartWater Technology Limited, said: “With hundreds of criminal convictions to date and a 100% conviction rate in court, criminals are aware of SmartWater’s ability to place them at the scene of a crime.

"This crime-beating innovation is the result of a joint venture between the market leaders in forensic and fogging technology."

It comes after the Co-op's Prestatyn store was broken into overnight on Tuesday, with the front of the store being badly damaged after three people broke their way in.

(Image: Ian Cooper/North Wales Live)

It is not clear whether anything was taken.

Other recent incidents include an armed robbery at the Co-op in Garden Village, Wrexham, where three men entered the store with knives last month before escaping with cash.

Late last year, the Co-op store in Deganwy was badly damaged when thieves broke into the shop and "blew up" the cash point.