Two people to appear in court on theft charges

Two people have been charged with 22 offences of theft between them and will appear in court next month.

Tegan Shay Ford, 29, and Louise Jeffrey, 49, both of Highbridge Road, Burnham-on-Sea, will appear at Taunton Deane Magistrate’s Court on Monday 8 September.

Ford has been charged with 13 separate offences of theft from a shop between 17 June and 12 August, and Jeffrey faces nine charges for the same offence between June 17 and 9 August this year.

Both have been released on conditional bail not to enter any retail premises in Burnham-on-Sea in the company of one another until their next court appearance.

PC Thomas Highton, officer in the case, said: “Shop theft is not a low-level crime; it has a significant impact on businesses, customers, retail staff, and even wider communities.

“Crimes of this nature will not be tolerated, and we will do everything we can to seek justice to ensure our communities and businesses feel safe, and offenders are brought to justice.

“We are working with businesses and other commercial groups, with whom we have good relationships with, to make it easier and faster form them to report incidents, provide CCTV footage and statements which are important in helping us to secure charges.

“We would encourage everyone to report any incident to police as soon as possible so that we can take action as a priority, particularly where violence is used.”