CCTV of 'absolutely brazen' Cambridge thieves shared by shop owner

One of the suspected thieves can be seen reaching for tools and then putting them under his jacket or in a pocket

A shop owner has posted CCTV of three suspected thieves stealing £1,500-worth of power tools "to shame them".

The thefts were recorded on the security camera at Mackays of Cambridge at about 09:45 GMT on 1 March.

Joint managing director Neil Mackay said the men were "absolutely brazen" and "couldn't care less" that they were on CCTV.

Cambridgeshire Police said it had received a report about the stolen items and officers were investigating.

Two other men, who appear to be connected to the first man, are seen leaving a store room with further items

Mr Mackay, who refuses to use the word shoplifting because it "demeans the crime", plans to run the video on a TV screen in his shop window.

"I have been campaigning for the last 15 years against the crime of shop theft and I've reached the end of my tether with it," he said.

"I'm now going to shame them by showing their faces when I have strong enough evidence - they can sue me."

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The CCTV of the 1 March incident showed three men entering the power tool section of the East Road hardware shop.

One of the men can be seen looking directly at the camera and then moving away before he removed several tools, one at a time, and hid them under his coat.

The other men initially appear to be decoys, but one of them goes into a store room and is captured on camera carrying out more equipment.

Neil Mackay said £1,500-worth of power tools had been stolen

Mr Mackay said: "Over the years, I'm not sure how much I've lost but the margins on power tools are so low that if one item has been stolen it takes at least 12 items to make a profit to pay overheads."

He has told his suppliers he will no longer display small, pocketable power tools "until they can supply a secure way of doing it".

A Cambridgeshire Police spokesperson said: "We have received a report of power tools being stolen from Mackays on East Road, Cambridge, between 09:43 GMT and 09:47 on Friday, 1 March.

"An investigation has been launched and anyone with any information is urged to contact police via web chat or by calling 101, quoting crime reference 35/15561/24."