SHOPLIFTERS who stole hundreds of pounds worth of clothes from a Harlow shop were tracked down and arrested.

Scott Thompson, 36, and Paul Rider, 58, entered the JD Sports store, in South Gate, at around 12.40pm on Monday 28 April.

Rider left the store with a number of items, while Thompson distracted staff.

Staff alerted police to the theft over the TownLink radio, which allows shops and police to communicate about ongoing issues.

Officers attended and traced the pair to a nearby address.

Both were arrested and the stolen clothing was recovered.

Thompson, of Carters Mead, Harlow, and Rider, of Westfield, Harlow, appeared at Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday 29 April.

They each admitted theft.

Each was ordered to pay £220 in fines and court costs.

PC Bradley Hall, of Harlow neighbourhood policing team, said: “TownLink provides that reassurance to retailers by allowing them quick contact and better information-sharing with us.

“It comes into its own when our officers are responding to reports of a crime in progress, as in this case.

“Store staff can use the radio to keep us and each other informed of a suspect’s movements, which allows us to arrest them more swiftly and put them before the courts.”