Tesco catch 14 shoplifters thanks to help from council

Fourteen shoplifters have been caught in the act on CCTV cameras in a town in the space of two weeks.

The footage captured thieves trying to steal from the Tesco store on White Lion Meadow in Whitchurch.

It comes after staff from the store teamed up with Whitchurch Town Council to monitor the images in a bid to catch offenders. A number of individuals have been identified and details have been passed on to police, who are looking to prosecute.

Councillor Rob Hewson, mayor of Whitchurch, said: "It's because of the great detective work by the store's security team, and the teamwork in the town.

"We are coming together to tell everyone that this is not acceptable and we won't be tolerating it.

"We've been told since renewing the cables in the CCTV it is the best in the county and it's meant we can monitor shoplifters leaving the store and see where they go.

"It now means that people in Whitchurch can feel confident that we are doing something about this and shoplifters should be deterred from it now we are catching people.

"People in the town won't have to pay for the losses that shoplifters cause now."

And the store itself has said that it hopes the recent success will send a clear message.

Dan Hall, security team leader at the store, said: "It's been a bit mad these last few weeks, and we're really pleased to have such a success.

"There's great morale now with the staff and customers, it's been really good news.

"Everyone is on board, it's been really good seeing people wanting to help.

"We want offenders to know that we will be prosecuting.

"It has been really successful working with the council, particularly with the Shopwatch scheme.

"It means that having a radio we can get in touch with the police immediately."

The town's 15 cameras are run by security company Secureasound and the council were recently awarded a grant to revamp and repair the system.

The system was last year criticised for being "outdated" for providing poor quality images after it was installed five years ago.

It was also slammed by Diane Moulton, manager of clothing store Apparel on Green End following an incident involving a man with a knife, where West Mercia Police say they are still to make any arrests.

But since, Councillor Hewson has said the Police Crime Commissioner representative Graham Oliver has praised the system and its improvements.