Shropshire chewing gum 'stolen for foreign currency'

Gangs of eastern Europeans are stealing chewing gum from big Shropshire supermarkets to use back home as currency, police said today.

Stores in Shrewsbury, Telford, Market Drayton and Bridgnorth have all become victims since early summer.

Constable David Walton, a police officer in Shrewsbury, today urged county supermarkets to be on their guard.

Mr Walton said it was believed gangs of eastern Europeans were coming into the country to steal chewing gum in bulk before taking it home where it is used as currency, particularly in Romania.

Full report in the Shropshire Star