Almost £300 of goods shoplifted from B&M store in Staffordshire

The goods, worth a total of £287.87, were alleged to have been shoplifted from the B&M store by a man and woman.

They were among the £867.10 worth of items recovered by officers in Lichfield and returned to affected businesses this month as part of a police operation aimed at targeting shoplifters.

In another incident, a man was detained by police with the help of security staff at a shop and £120.38 worth of stolen items were recovered.

Separately, a man was arrested over the theft of £143 worth of alcohol, while another man was arrested for theft from a One Stop store in Chasetown, Burntwood, and items were recovered.

Staffordshire Police said officers are also continuing to carry out "targeted patrols" in Chasetown after more than £500 worth of cleaning equipment was stolen from shops.

Temporary Chief Inspector Paul Finlayson, commander of Lichfield local policing team, said: “I am pleased this plain-clothes operation has been such a success, especially in the lead-up to Christmas. 

“We are particularly grateful to our community partners including stores’ security staff, business owners and leaders, retail premises and the local authority, who have all supported this action. 

“We will continue to run these types of operations across the district to target retail crime throughout 2025.”