'We suspected goods stolen from our stores are being sold at car boot sales in Peterborough'

City retailers who had been repeatedly targeted by shoplifters had requested the police action that saw £10,000 worth of stolen goods seized at a car boot sale in Peterborough.

A police swoop on the car boot sale at the Wellington Car Park a few weeks ago lead to officers seizing more than 670 products from confectionery to cosmetics that had been stolen from shops in the city.

The raid, which involved police, regulatory services, city centre teams, took place in a bid to to disrupt ‘sellers of concern’.

Pep Cipriano, chief operating officer for Peterborough Positive, which provided funds towards the police operation, said: “The action came after a number of retailers told us at a meeting that they suspected that goods stolen from their stores were being sold at the car boot sale.

"I am very pleased with the outcome of the action and it shows that theft from our stores will not be tolerated.”

Now Peterborough Positive is about to appoint a business crime and safety liaison officer who will link up with business managers and owners about ongoing security concerns.

A spokesperson for Peterborough City Council said: “If our officers are made aware of, or discover surrendered or seized goods at public events we will look to take appropriate action working in conjunction with partners including the police.

"Officers will look to seize any suspected stolen goods and carry out relevant safety checks.

“This year Peterborough Positive have also contributed funding towards this work.

She added: “As part of ‘business as usual’ work carried out by our Regulatory Services teams we regularly monitor sites/events where goods are sold or exchanged, such as car boot sales.

“We have a duty of care to members of the public who attend such events, to help ensure their safety and protection.

"Nationally, Environmental Health and Trading Standards teams periodically review car boot sales, taking into consideration how many people attend and number of sellers.

“Car boot sales are often events where members of the public are involved with exchanging goods.

"Considering our duty of care for residents, we work with partners to help ensure that such events run smoothly and appropriate action is taken if we are made aware of, or discover suspected stolen goods.

"From a council perspective, we can only say that the vast majority of sellers at car boot sales are legitimate and it’s only a small minority that are rogue traders.

"Going forwards, we will look to work closely with the fire service to monitor the sale of electrical items at public events, as part of duty of care to the public.”

During the action at the Wellington Car Boot sale more than 675 items with an approximate sale value of over £10,000 that were surrendered or abandoned on the site were removed by officers with the co-operation of licence holders.

Items seized included confectionery, cosmetics, chocolates, coffee, laundry detergents, deodorants, sanitary products, face cream and bathroom products.

The seized items were donated to Care Zone in Peterborough, a charity which helps vulnerable families to access household goods and furniture.