Stamping down on crime

A Wivey shopkeeper has been warned that he could be jailed for his unusual way of dealing with shoplifters.He said police were doing little to prevent shoplifters targeting his shop so he told thieves he'd call the police unless they gave him one of their shoes.

But police told him his punishment counted as robbery, whereas shoplifting was merely a misdemeanour.

"I give them the choice. I say, 'I'm either going to call the cops or you give me one of your shoes'," Mr Milton Fyffe told The Wivey Mirror.

"They're too humiliated to come back and ask for their shoe, and that also means they won't steal again."

But PC Dick Head of Wivey Constabulary said: "I would suggest that he find a different option that doesn't involve giving up property. "What's the difference between him saying, 'Give me £20 and I won't call the police' or 'Give me your shoe?'"

Mr Milton Fyffe has denied having a shoe fetish and has reluctantly agreed to abide by the police warning: "It was a good try, but I'll have to figure something else out," he said.