Police are sending St Valentine's Day cards to their top ten burglars and car criminals.

The verse inside reads:

"Will you be my Valentine? I'm hoping we can meet. We have a cosy cell, Prepared here at John Street. Just continue with your lawbreaking, And we can guarantee, A ride in a police car, And a lack of liberty."

Each card has been sealed with a kiss from a Brighton and Hove crime intelligence analyst.

Superintendent Peter Coll said: "I'm afraid the lines in the cards would not sustain literary scrutiny.

"The authors are more talented as analysts and police officers than poets.

"This may be a light-hearted way of letting our targets know we are watching them but the serious message to them is that we know you are committing crimes.

"Stop or we will lock you up."

The Valentine targets, aged from 16 to 30, all have convictions for burglary and car crime.

Police suspect they are offending again and are gathering evidence against them.

Crime in the city has fallen dramatically in the past two years; burglary by 38 per cent and car crime by 22 per cent.

But Mr Coll said the division was determined to keep up the pressure on villains.

He said: "The division has been criticised recently for not caring enough and I know we don't always get it right.

"But there are a great many dedicated officers and staff who are determined to catch offenders and make our city safer.

"The fact that we have had 3,464 fewer crimes in recent years demonstrates this.

"I hope our Valentine's Day gesture reinforces the message to criminals that our hearts are set on catching them."