Police hold the purse-strings

More than 200 of the chains, which attach purses to handbags using a keychain device, were given out in Montague Street, Worthing.

The scheme is a response to the recent rise in purse thefts in the town, mainly targeted at older people, and was conceived by Sergeant Shelley Olsen.

She said: "We launched the cat bell scheme last year, and it did work for a while, but I think people have got used to the noise now.

"The good thing about the chains is that it is physically impossible for someone to steal the purse.

"Our evidence shows that the thieves don't want confrontation, so we don't think they will bother trying to steal from people who have the chains.

"Some people have lost up to 400 and had their bank accounts cleared out within minutes so it's something we needed to address."

The give-away was so successful, another 1,000 chains have been ordered and will be distributed in the coming weeks.