Man charged with shoplifting

A man has been charged after police were called to shoplifting reports in Welwyn Garden City.

Police received a call at around 1pm on Thursday 13 November, reporting thefts from Boots in Cole Green Lane and Moors Walk.

CCTV was collated and it was quickly established that other incidents had occurred in Abbots Langley and elsewhere in the South East region.

Officers identified a vehicle suspected to be involved and alerted neighbouring forces. The vehicle made its way to Cambridgeshire and then Suffolk where it was stopped by police.

An estimated £6,000 worth of suspected stolen goods were recovered from the boot of the car.

Thomas Ward, aged 39, of no fixed abode, was arrested and later charged with 12 counts of shoplifting, suspected to be worth around £28k. He has been remanded in custody ahead of pre-trial preparation hearing at St Albans Crown Court in December.

Inspector Amy Sheldon, from the Welwyn Hatfield Neighbourhood Policing Team, said: “This is good news for the local business community and it coincided with us taking part in the national Safer Business Action Week which ran from Monday 10 November to Friday 14 November.

“Tackling retail crime is a priority for us as we know the impact it has on businesses. I hope this arrest reassures the business community that we take retail crime seriously.

“Related offences have now been identified in Hertfordshire, Surrey, London, Thames Valley, Cambridgeshire and Suffolk. We are working closely with these other forces to progress our enquiries.”

Enquiries are ongoing to trace three other individuals who made off from the vehicle.

You can report information online at herts.police.uk/report, speak to an operator in our Force Communications Room via our online web chat at herts.police.uk/contact or call the non-emergency number 101.

Alternatively, you can stay 100% anonymous by contacting the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their untraceable online form at crimestoppers-uk.org.

In an emergency, always call 999.