Store boss fights back against thieves because police 'let them off the hook'

A fed up shopkeeper says he's had enough of sitting back while criminals help themselves to his stock - and has taken matters into his own hands to protect his business. Andrew Board, who runs the Core Convenience Store in Newton Hall, Durham, has become a local have-a-go hero - chasing down thieves, physically dragging them back into the shop, and banning dozens from ever stepping foot through the door again. After six years of running the store, the married father-of-three had reached the end of his tether at being 'robbed blind' while courts dish out slap on the wrist punishments to shoplifters. His struggles are indicative of a larger shoplifting crisis which has engulfed the nation in recent years, one which policing critics have claimed makes stealing now 'legal.'