'Repeated shoplifting means I never have a day off'

A business owner says the frequency of shoplifting in her store means she cannot take a day off and has considered abandoning the industry.

Carolyn Tarlton says she has been forced to spend £6,000 on more than 30 CCTV cameras to try to catch offenders at her Frenchgate Shopping Centre shop in Doncaster, with one recent shoplifter dropping a knife after she chased him out.

"Sometimes you find yourself waking up in the middle of the night and you just can't get the images out of your head," Tarlton said.

South Yorkshire Police said 54 people had been jailed for shoplifting in the city centre in the last six months, with a combined total of more than 30 years in prison.

According to a British Retail Consortium survey, 26% of people in Yorkshire and Humberside had witnessed shoplifting over the past 12 months - the joint highest region outside of London.

The study, published on Tuesday, found the same percentage had witnessed physical or verbal abuse of shop staff.

Tarlton, who owns The Gadget Stall, said culprits were often children.

"They seem to think they're entitled to steal," she said.

"I never let a child go - I call the parents or the police and I give the children the choice. I like to let the parents know what their kids are doing."

Tarlton said: "I don't take a day off, I work here seven days a week, I get three days off a year.

"I would like to go home and sleep for a couple of days, but I can't do that because people come in and steal."

PC Gwyn Howroyd, who is part of a team tackling shoplifting in Doncaster city centre, has got to know both shop owners and persistent shoplifters well over the last four years.

"What I want to be doing all the time is walking around the shops, places where shop employees can see me and can tell me if they've had any recent shopliftings that's they've not reported yet," PC Howroyd said.

"And also to have a word with anyone who might be about to shoplift to work to try to prevent it from happening in the first place and send them off to get some support."

"There have been times where I've just wanted to close the shop, sell up and go, this happens regularly," Tarlton added.

In response to Tarlton's concerns, a South Yorkshire Police spokesperson said: "We recognise the devastating impact caused by shop thefts and we want to continue working with business owners and retail workers to combat retail crime in Doncaster and the wider South Yorkshire area.

"We are grateful to Ms Tarlton for reporting these shoplifting offences to us and our officers will be visiting the store to complete a bespoke problem solving and crime reduction plan with the owner."

They added: "If you have been a victim of shoplifting, please report it to us. The sooner we know about it, the sooner we can act - you will never be wasting our time and by reporting it you help to keep our communities safe from harm."

Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North.