AN INNOVATIVE invention could help prevent garage and shed burglaries.

Richard Myall, of Marsh Street, Warminster, has helped Cleveland Studios Ltd develop a microchip that can protect valuable items.

Anything from cameras and computers to garden machinery and golf clubs can be security tagged.

The chip emits radio frequency waves, which when scanned, reveal a unique code. This code can then be found on a national database and traced back to the owner.

Police, crime prevention departments and insurance companies have welcomed the radio frequency security system.

Mr Myall said: "People have to fill in a registration form and their details go on to a secure database. If an item is stolen it goes on the lost property register, which is accessible all over the UK. The ownership of suspected stolen goods can also be checked."

The ChiptraC microchip is packaged with the registration form and Mr Myall hopes all traders and distributors will stock them. People are registered on the national database for five years and, if the tagged item is stolen, the purchaser's insurance policy excess (up to £50) is covered for 12 months.

"We are quietly confident that this idea will be adopted by every household in the future," said Mr Myall.

For more information go to www.chiptrac.com