Four suspected shoplifters were tracked to the car park of a takeaway restaurant and arrested after hundreds of pounds worth of clothes were stolen from a nearby store in Mansfield.

Police officers were alerted to a theft in Mansfield’s St Peter’s Retail Park shortly before 6.30pm on Monday, November 11, as multiple suspects made off towards a parked car.

Quick-thinking staff passed number plate details to the local PCSO, who then tracked the car to a nearby car park.

Additional officers arrived on scene, detained the occupants and recovered more than £1,500 worth of stolen clothes, cosmetics and other items.

placeholder image — Image: Nottinghamshire Police.

Two men, aged 24 and 23, and two women, aged 34 and 22, were arrested on suspicion of theft.

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Officers in Mansfield have been focussing intensely on the issue of shop-theft and have recently overseen a fall in offence reports of more than 40 per cent.

As part of that effort, officers have worked with staff in the retail park to help them detect suspects and report them directly to police and each other via a local radio network.

Inspector Kylie Davies, district commander for Mansfield, said: “The retail park is a great asset to our town, but it is also a prime target for organised groups of shop thieves.

“That’s why we’ve been working directly with our local retailers to strengthen their defences and improve detections.

“In this case that work has paid off and a very significant quantity of stolen goods have been returned to their rightful owners.”