A three-pronged assault has been launched on fraudsters in local shops in the run-up to Christmas.

The pioneering campaign to unmask crooks using stolen cheques and forged credit cards is spearheaded by Keighley police.

Shops, pubs and petrol stations in Keighley, Haworth and Ilkley will be among the first businesses to benefit.

Each of the 150 free kits contains a counterfeit currency pen, an ultra-violet lamp and an "inkless" pad.

Keighley is believed to be the first town in the country where all three crime-busting gadgets have been pulled into one package.

Bradford council and the Single Regeneration Budget agreed to pay for the equipment following an approach by crime prevention officer PC Steve Littlewood.

He launched the Anti-Fraud and Forgery Initiative this week in partnership with Chris Slaven, Keighley's community safety co-ordinator, and Haworth community constable PC Glyn Butterworth.

The counterfeit currency pen is used to draw a line across a bank note: real ones show up as wet but forgeries reveal a dark brown line.

When the ultra-violet lamp is pointed at a real credit card it will highlight a ghostly image that cannot be seen by the naked eye. Forgeries do not have this image.

The inkless pad is a machine that allows customers to place a thumb print on the back of their cheque or credit slip at the till point.

The result is that if the shopper's cheque book or credit card is stolen, a person is unlikely to use them fraudulently because it would mean leaving their print.

PC Littlewood says: "In all cases the police will recover the slip with the thumb print, and have the ability of possible identification of the person responsible."

Chris Slaven says that in parts of America where the inkless pad has been used, there has been a drop in fraud of between 65 and 100 per cent.

He says: "The message is clear to offenders. Don't bother to come to the Keighley area to obtain goods by fraudulent means."

PC Littlewood adds: "I believe this is the first scheme in the country to combine all three measures in one."

PC Littlewood is pleased that money was made available from both the Single Regeneration Budget crime reduction fund and the Bradford council/Keighley Area Panel crime prevention fund.

SRB money can only be spent in central areas of Keighley, but the council donation means outlying villages can benefit too.

PC Littlewood says the first kits will be given to participants in existing schemes such as Shoplink, Haworth Shopwatch, Pub Watch and Forecourt Watch.

He adds: "They get priority because they're the ones who've put their hands in their pockets to do something for themselves."

Roxana Clarkson, deputy manageress of Keighley fashion store Etam, says the equipment will help her staff combat fraud over the busy Christmas period.

She says they already use a range of effective measures including a till machine that bleeps when forgeries are used.

Roxana admits the inkless pad will have to be voluntary, because some customers may feel their prints are personal to them.