A group of Penryn shopkeepers have come up with a new approach to tackling shoplifting with the introduction of a new ‘Shopwatch’ scheme in the town.

The brainchild of Ian McCabe, of Costcutters and Peter Wemyss, of P&M News, and based on the well known Pubwatch which aims to discourage antisocial behaviour in pubs and bars, the plan will see anyone caught shoplifting in one shop in the group banned from all of them.

At a meeting of the first seven shopkeepers to join, along with local PCSO Lewis Vague, the group unveiled an A4 poster which will be prominently displayed in any premises which chooses to take part.

Peter said he was talking to Ian about the problem of shoplifting in the town.

He said: “It’s happening more and more often and we said that we need to do something about it.

“I said ‘I’ll let you know if someone is shoplifting and you can keep an eye out for them’ but we didn’t want to push the problem to other shops.

“It’s better of the shops stick together.”

He said the hope is that people will be deterred from shoplifting by the idea of being unable to use any of the shops in Penryn, and added: “The more shops there are in it, the less chance there is of people doing any shoplifting.”

Any shop owners who are interested in joining the scheme should contact Peter Wemyss on 01326-372344.