Asda - where Black Country thieves go to shop

Asda was today revealed as the worst-hit store for shoplifting in the Black Country in the past year - with Boots and Primark among the top targets.

Thefts at eight main branches of Asda in the region were reported to officers nearly 500 times in the past year, according to figures released today by West Midlands Police.

The stores are being targeted because of their size and the fact they open 24 hours a day.

The latest figures reveal £400,000 worth of goods are stolen every day nationally, but retailers say that only 12 per cent of thefts are passed on to officers.

Today Asda said it was a adopting a "zero tolerance" policy, placing security guards with access to CCTV technology at its entrances.

Boots, Primark, Matalan and TK Maxx were also badly hit.

The cost of thefts nationally has risen from £99m to £137m in a year, fuelled by the recession. The 10 worst-hit stores in each of the four Black Country boroughs were targeted nearly 2,000 times last year. Police arrested 2,898 suspects.

Asda in Wolverhampton was the worst hit, with 131 reported cases of shoplifting. Its store in George Street, Walsall, was hit 93 times and its Sandwell store 65 times. The worst hit in Dudley was Merry Hill's Debenhams, with 76 crimes.

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