Police use new forensic spray to 'tag' louts who cause misery on off-road bikes

A new 'forensic spray' has been adopted by Greater Manchester Police to help track down louts who spread misery by tearing around on unregistered off-road bikes.

Each cannister contains a 'unique forensic code' which will help cops link an incident of antisocial or illegal riding to the rider and their machine. Force bosses hope 'SmartTag' will help them tackle menace of off-road biking as well as the antisocial use of e-bikes. Cops across GMP have been handed the spray and it has already been used to arrest ten suspects and seize 54 bikes.

Each spray contains a solution with a 'unique forensic code' which will help to link a suspect and vehicle to the moment the cannister was activated. A UV light is used to detect the solution which has been sprayed onto the rider's clothing and on their machine.

READ NEXT: GoFundMe page for girl orphaned in crash that killed sisters passes £200k as tributes pour in

Superintendent John-Paul Ruffle, of GMP's Prevention Branch, said: “We are continuing with our commitment to dealing with (antisocial) riders across Greater Manchester. We have seen ten arrests made in the first six weeks of this operation and 54 bikes seized in the process.

"Our work with the SmartWater Group has been ongoing and we are delighted to be able to get these cannister delivered and out in operation across the force immediately.

“This device will hopefully act as a deterrent to those participating in anti-social behaviour on motorbikes, e-bikes and quadbikes as they now know that they will be sprayed with a solution that will link them back to the scene of the crime.”

Inspector Michael Crosthwaite, of GMP's Wigan division, added: "We have seized 19 bikes in our district alone during this operation with five