Shoplifting has plunged during the lockdown, police have revealed.

Figures released to Wiltshire’s police and crime panel this month showed that shop thefts had fallen by 62 per cent in the month to May 10.

Councillors on the panel – made up of representatives from Swindon and Wiltshire councils – were told: “It is anticipated for this reduction to be maintained. Whilst more stores begin to open there is a heavy focus on security to support social distancing and monitor customer behaviour.”

Theft rates in the county have fallen more dramatically than elsewhere in the UK, with house break-ins in Wiltshire down 50.7 per cent in the first full month of lockdown compared to 35 per cent nationally.

Overall, theft is down 57.7 per cent, with 647 offences recorded between when lockdown started on March 23 and May 17 compared to 1,529 over the same period in 2019.

Certainly, the picture from magistrates’ court is one of a significant fall in shop thefts. Ordinarily, the district judge or justices of the peace would deal with scores of petty thefts every week.

During lockdown, when cases have until this week generally been heard at Basingstoke Magistrates’ Court, shoplifters have been few and far between.

Some of those who have appeared before the north Hampshire court have received substantial jail sentences.

They include inveterate thief Martin Morgan, jailed for 10 weeks on May 29 for stealing a £12 bottle of alcohol from the Pinehurst One Stop shop a day before. Of the 10 weeks six were part of a suspended sentence imposed a fortnight earlier for 10 shop thefts.

On June 1, David Mundy was jailed for almost four months after admitting four thefts from the Beechcroft Road Co-op. The 31-year-old was said by the magistrates to have an appalling record, with chairman of the bench Amelia Ashton also noting he had failed to engage with the probation service while on post-sentence supervision.

Two weeks before lockdown, the Adver went out with inSwindon security chief Kev Saunders and PC Paul Bezzant in the town centre.

The centre is watched by a network of dozens of CCTV cameras, including 70 in the Brunel shopping centre alone.

Kev said of shoplifting: “It’s not a victimless crime. To recoup that money the shops put the prices up. At the end of the day it affects all of us.

He added: “For the independents it has a massive affect. You can tell it really hits home for them. It’s personal for them because it’s their business.”

Training for stores was last year said to have saved businesses £100,000 - up from £72,000 the year before.