A GORLESTON man was sentenced to a total of 184 days in prison after going on a shoplifting spree. Carl Philpott, 26, of Baliol Road, stole £31.86 worth of toiletries from Boots in Gorleston and £125.

A GORLESTON man was sentenced to a total of 184 days in prison after going on a shoplifting spree.

Carl Philpott, 26, of Baliol Road, stole £31.86 worth of toiletries from Boots in Gorleston and £125.52 worth of clothing and toiletries from Tesco in Great Yarmouth.

Philpott appeared before Yarmouth Magistrates Court last Thursday and was also sentenced for being in breach of a suspended sentence order.

It comes after an increase in shoplifting offences in Gorleston High Street in recent weeks and Insp Paul McCarthy, who leads the town's Safer Neighbourhood Team, warned anyone caught shoplifting faces being banned from all shops in the town.

Dozens of High Street stores, including Boots, New Look, Iceland and Peacocks, are signed up to a scheme whereby anyone caught shoplifting in one store faces being excluded from others.

Police say they have seen a slight increase in the amount of shoplifting offences - with three incidents reported in the last two weeks. Officers usually deal with one shoplifting offence every two weeks.

Meanwhile, retailers on Yarmouth's Gapton Hall retail park have launched a joint initiative, using short-wave radios, to combat shoplifting and anti-social behaviour.

In a scheme modelled on one successfully operating in the town centre, traders will use the radios - partly funded by the business growth initiative enterpriseGY - to share information with each other about possible criminal activity.

Stores will also have a direct link with the town's CCTV control room and local police officers to ensure a faster response to incidents.