Two people have been arrested after bags of donated clothes went missing from charity bins.
The arrests were made after Marks Farm Tesco security guard, who asked to be referred to only as Zee, contacted police after people were seen using a stick to "fish out" shoes and clothes from charity bins in the store car park.
Zee checked CCTV after being alerted by a customer who had read an appeal in the Braintree and Witham Times about previous thefts.
Zee said: "I am so pleased with the dedication of Essex Police and how they took it seriously this time."
A 51-year-old man and a 47-year-old woman, both from the Maldon area, were arrested in the Maldon area
shortly after 7pm on suspicion of theft.
The man has been bailed until August 1 and the woman until September 24.
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