Shoplifters have stolen more than £360,000 worth of goods from three major Midland shopping centres in just 18 months – costing traders more than £20,000 a month, it emerged today.

Thieves targeted Dudley’s Merry Hill Shopping Centre, Wolverhampton’s Mander Centre and the Bullring in Birmingham 2,169 times between April 2010 and the end of September this year. It is estimated that between 50 and 60 per cent of beat officers’ time is taken up with retail crime.

Police are braced for a sudden surge in thefts with the sales now in full swing.

West Midlands Police spokesman Lee Page said today officers were working with traders across the region and particularly in popular centres such as Bullring, Merry Hill and the Mander Centre  to tackle the problem.

“According to our officers, the most popular items we see stolen are usually food.”

Of the three centres, Merry Hill was the worst-hit, reporting 1,045 thefts compared to 848 at the Bullring and 276 at the Mander Centre.

Other popular targets for thieves include clothes, computer games and DVDs.

The British Retail Consortium says shoplifters make off with goods worth almost £400,000 every day, according to a recent survey of UK retailers.

Sgt Richard Evans, from Brierley Hill Police Station, said a “zero tolerance” approach had been introduced, with joint working between police and security staff who continually patrol Merry Hill in an effort to cut down on thefts.

In Wolverhampton, plain-clothed officers are working alongside retailers and carrying out car park checks, staying vigilant for potential pickpockets and shoplifters.