Gardaí attached to the Mayo North Community Engagement Area are set to host a property marking event next weekend.

The event will take place on Saturday, February 14 at Ardagh GAA grounds and Moygownagh Community Centre.

Property marking involves engraving an Eircode onto valuable farm machinery, equipment, and other valuable items using a specialist machine.

According to Garda Síochána Mayo, "this simple but effective measure can helps deter theft and assists in the recovery of stolen property".

Gardaí are asking all locals available on the day to avail of this service in order to protect their property from thieves.

It is a free service that "will be rolling out across all parts of Mayo over the coming months", Garda Síochána Mayo said.

An Garda Síochána supports property marking, giving these points as their reasons:

Makes property less attractive to thieves and harder to sell on;
Assists gardaí in identifying the owner of recovered property as it is marked with the eircode;
Helps to secure convictions by providing evidence that the item does not belong to the suspect;
It acts as an effective crime deterrent in conjunction with their safety signage.

An Garda Síochána

Separately, gardaí in Mayo recently stopped a tractor driving on the N5 near Bohola with no working lights on its trailer and its beacon lights off, while they were out on patrol on January 27.

Upon approaching and speaking with the driver of the tractor, they discovered that the beacons were in working order once the driver turned them on.

However the trailer's side lamps, rear lamps, stop lamps and reflective rear markings were not in working order, resulting in the tractor driver receiving a fixed charge penalty notice.

Gardaí reminded owners of agricultural tractors that the vehicles must be fitted with a working, flashing amber/orange beacon, which must be switched on while operating on a public road.