Taking fingerprints at second-hand shops helped slash the number of bikes stolen on city streets.

Bike thefts fell by nearly a quarter in Brighton and Hove this summer compared to 2008.

Part of the police’s strategy involved second hand shops taking a thumbprint from anyone selling them a cycle.

The operation also included the use of “trap bikes” to snare thieves and a campaign to encourage better bike security.

Between June and September there were 367 bike thefts in the city, compared with 486 in 2008.

Bike shops said customers responded well to the thumbprint measure.

Chief Inspector Laurence Taylor of Sussex Police said: “A large part of it is the deterrent factor.

“It is extremely unlikely if someone has got a stolen bike and they are asked to leave a fingerprint they are going to do so.

“If you remove the ability to sell the bikes on, the incentive to steal the bike in the first place diminishes.”

He said the prints do not end up on any police databases.

They are kept by shops with the seller’s other details, and only consulted by police when they were investigating whether a bike had been stolen.