A SHOP owner has thanked a customer for their crime stopping efforts.

Daniel Wedge, owner of Harpers Motorcycle Accessories, on London Road, Leigh, has heaped praise on the customer who tried to stop thieves getting away with valuable accessories, after distracting his mum.

Daniel, from Benfleet, said: “My mum was working in the shop at the time when two men came in looking for security accessories.

“Looking back at the CCTV, you can see one distracts her while the other walks towards our Interphone’s, bluetooth communication systems which allow people to safely talk on the phone when on their bike.

“He removed the security tags and puts one under his jacket. 

“A customer saw what was going on and confronted him, and there was an altercation between the two. They started shouting and it got a bit violent, so mum tried to defuse the situation and told him to come back later.”

Daniel told how his mum then called him straight away realising there was a gap where the system usually was. He added: “When I saw the CCTV, I phoned the police.
“We’re now keeping our door locked, so if any customers come to the store we have to unlock it to let them in.”

Daniel wants to warn other smaller businesses about the incident, reminding them to stay vigilant.

He added: “It’s lucky the customer intervened or more could’ve been taken, thank you for your help.

“It’s quite sad because we’re only a small business, we don’t get loads of customers all the time. So when we do get customers it’s fantastic - to have them steal from us is a bit of a stab in the back.”

Anyone with information is asked to contact 101, quoting crime reference number 42/26966/20.