POLICE arrested three suspected shoplifters within 30 minutes of sunglasses being stolen from a shop in York.

North Yorkshire Police were called at 7.16pm on Tuesday by a shop worker at the McArthur Glen outlet in York, who reported the theft, and gave details of a vehicle the suspects were seen leaving in.

Using automatic number plate recognition (ANPR), the vehicle was located travelling north on the A19, and officers stopped the vehicle just outside Thirsk at 7.46.

On searching the vehicle, officers found "a substantial amount of other goods which they suspect have also been stolen from various shops in York", including two crates of champagne, 29 separate bottles of champagne, nine bottles of gin, two bottles of whisky, 28 packs of meat and a bag of clothing.

The three occupants of the vehicle, two men aged 44 and a woman aged 38 from Sunderland, were arrested on suspicion of theft from a shop and remain in police custody for questioning.