Pair known locally tried to steal a Playmobil Submarine worth £21
An independent toy shop owner in Wells apprehended a pair of shoplifters by catching them in the act and then chasing them down the high street.
Kids Stuff owner, Lee Borastero witnessed the pair take a Playmobil Submarine off a shelf in his store and then 'brazenly walk out of the shop' with it on his CCTV system.
Borastero, the recent winner of the 2013 Progressive Preschool awards for Independent Toy Retailer of the Year, then chased the offenders down the high street shouting "Oi, give me my box back."
Upon catching the pair and retrieving the Playmobil set – priced at £21 – the owner of the family run toyshop warned them that "if I ever saw them in my shop again I would call the police.
"I then came back into the shop, retrieved the CCTV off the system and then phoned the police and reported it," said Borastero.
"It was just as brazen as the CCTV footage shows you," he continued. "The young lady opened the door. The gentleman stood there, picked up the box and then walked out with it."
While the attempted shoplifting was the first of its kind in 12 years for the store, Borastero advises that retailers need to remain vigilant and stresses the importance of CCTV systems in shops.
"There are a lot of shops out there that don't have CCTV, and it's not expensive. Our set up cost us £350 and it is certainly worthwhile having," he continued.
"If the product costing £21 had been stolen and not recovered, how long is that £21 going to take to make back when your margins are at about 35 percent? It's the last kind of thing the high street needs at the moment."
Police are still looking for the perpetrators who were last seen getting on a bus towards the next town.
"Thankfully this isn't a common occurrence in the area, but the two people pictured on the CCTV footage are known to the area. The police haven't caught them yet, but I am waiting for them to come in and pick up the CCTV video," concluded Borastero.
The pair, known to the area, tried to get away with a Playmobil set worth £21.
