Retailers have reacted angrily to comments suggesting Nottinghamshire Police may deal with budget cuts by refusing to chase shoplifters.

Nottinghamshire’s Police and Crime Commissioner told the Nottingham Post that officers would “probably not” come out to a store that reported shoplifting. This is despite the force receiving 8,786 reports of local shoplifting between June 2016 and June 2017.

“It’s ridiculous, I want my council tax cut as I have to deal with shoplifting myself,” said Anna Patel, owner of Star News in Nottingham. “We once lost £10,000 of cigarettes in a break-in and calling the police was a total waste of time.”

Former NFRN national president Ralph Patel has lobbied MPs to take retail crime more seriously. “It’s not just shoplifting,” he said. “A lot of our retailers face abuse and even assault, but all the police do is make silly excuses. I was worried to read about the attitude of the police in Nottinghamshire because if one force does it, the rest tend to follow.”