Your possessions may mean a lot to you but to a thief they are just another way of making easy cash. If stolen, you may be able to replace your TV, video and hi-fi, but do you own things that would be impossible to replace? These might include items of sentimental value.

Of course the best thing to do is to protect your home against thieves. But if someone did break in and steal things, could you describe what you have lost fully and accurately to the police? It's not as easy as it sounds when all you have to rely on is your memory.

Every year, property worth hundreds of thousands of pounds is recovered by the police and not returned to its rightful owners. This is simply because it can't be properly identified. And if the items can't be identified, the police may not be able to prove that they were stolen. They may then have to give your property back to the thieves and let them go.

Engraving, etching or UV marking can all help getting items returned to their rightful owners. Each method has advantages over the other, for example engraving is a good permanent way of identifying an item but engraving some items can reduce the value of them. Ultra violet marking works well but can be faded by direct sunlight or can be cleaned off!

ultra violet marker pen like this can be purchased for a couple of pounds and if you are unlucky enough to be burgled it could help getting your items returned to you if they are ever recovered by the Police.

A ultra violet light can be purchased for less than £10 These are great for finding UV marks on items as well as being useful for identifying counterfeit money.

When marking items with the UV pen you need to do it somewhere that is not too obvious or a clever thief could remove the mark before it is correctly identified. This camcorder is being marked behind the battery terminal. When marking an item you should include your post code and house number, that way if the Police ever find the item they can return it to it's rightful owner.

Here the Ultra violet postcode and house number are clearly visible. If this item was stolen there is a chance that it could one day be returned to the owner.