POLICE have arrested a woman after a series of incidents at an out of town retail and leisure park.

Officers were alerted to a theft after a woman entered a shop at Stane Retail Park, in Stanway, on October 25.

It was reported she picked up a number of products and then left the shop without making an attempt to pay for them.

Essex Police said it has now arrested a 52-year-old woman from Colchester in connection with the theft and four other similar incidents.

Gazette: Targeted - a shoplifter has repeatedly targeted premises in Stane Retail ParkTargeted - a shoplifter has repeatedly targeted premises in Stane Retail Park (Image: Newsquest)

The other crimes are reported to have taken place at the same retail park between September and October.

The woman was also arrested on suspicion of possession of Class A drugs with intent to supply.

During a raid of a property linked to her, a quantity of suspected Class A drugs were recovered.

A police spokesman said: “She has been released on bail while inquiries continue.”

Gazette: Arrests - police arrested a woman in connection to shoplifting at Stane Retail ParkArrests - police arrested a woman in connection to shoplifting at Stane Retail Park (Image: Newsquest)

Stanway councillor Lesley Scott-Boutell said she was glad to see police clamping down on shoplifters targeting her ward.

She said: “Stanway is a very safe place to live but because we have got a large retail area it will suffer more than perhaps another area of Colchester.

“I know from meetings with the police that this is something they are aware of and are working on.

“Our local team invest a lot of time in prevention and working with businesses to protect them from crime.”

Gazette: Praise - Stanway councillor Lesley Scott-Boutell has praised the police actionPraise - Stanway councillor Lesley Scott-Boutell has praised the police action (Image: Newsquest)

The councillor added: “If people see shoplifting taking place I wouldn’t advise them to go up and intervene but instead tell the security or the police.”

The retail park arrest comes amid a rise in the number of shoplifting crimes recorded in Essex last year.

Office for National Statistics figures show about 10,500 offences were recorded by the force in the year to June, up from 9,137 in 2022.

A police spokesman previously told the Gazette more than 2,400 shoplifting cases across Essex have been solved over the past year, an increase of 500 on the previous year.