Police chief constable arrests fleeing shoplifter

A police chief constable arrested a shoplifter attempting to flee after a group stole £1,141.35 worth of goods.

Meat, alcohol and other items were reported stolen from Waitrose in St Ives, Cambridgeshire, at about 13:00 GMT on Tuesday.

The county's chief constable Simon Megicks was on patrol with the Cambridgeshire Police's Rural Crime Action Team when a call was received about the suspects.

Three men, aged 31, 43 and 57, from Milton Keynes were arrested on suspicion of shoplifting and one of the arrests was made by the police chief.

Officers stopped the car that the men were travelling in and found the stolen items in the boot.

Two of the men have been charged with two counts of shoplifting and fraud by false representation and a third man has since been given a conditional caution.

Sgt Tom Nuttall, from Cambridgeshire Police, said: "This was an excellent result which was the product of effective teamwork and determination, making it a truly memorable day for the chief constable.

"The swift response to the CCTV report and the coordinated efforts of our officers led to the arrest of three suspects and the recovery of a significant amount of stolen goods."

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