SHOPPERS stopped a would-be thief from escaping from a Wallingford supermarket without paying for a trolley full of goods.

The woman was spotted fleeing Waitrose in St Martin’s Street at 2.55pm on Saturday, with a full shopping trolley, chased by a member of staff.

An onlooker said an off-duty policewoman, who was with her family in the car park, spotted the incident and helped the pursuit.

Eyewitness Phil Tyler said: “It was fortunate that so many public spirited shoppers were able to help.

Our top stories
%headlines(3181909,display='headlines',limit=5)

“It just shows what what can be done to fight crime when everyone takes time to support their community and the hard-working police.”

The woman tried to leave in a car with another driver but other members of the public surrounded the vehicle to stop her from escaping.

She was escorted by the store manager and off-duty policewoman back into the shop to wait for police, while the driver of her getaway car was said to have left the car park.

When the Oxford Mail contacted the store, a manager confirmed a woman had tried to take out goods from the store without paying, but refused to comment further.

Thames Valley Police did not respond to the Mail’s request for comment last night.

%headlines(3184041,limit=1

  • Do you want alerts delivered straight to your phone via our WhatsApp service? Text NEWS or SPORT or NEWS AND SPORT, depending on which services you want, and your full name to 07767 417704. Save our number into your phone’s contacts as Oxford Mail WhatsApp and ensure you have WhatsApp installed.