THIEVES who stole more than £320 of candles in less than five minutes have been urged to give themselves in after being caught on CCTV.

These pictures have been released by The Candle Shop at Trentham Shopping Village after the store was targeted by three people who stashed the goods in shopping bags and under a wheelchair.

Owner Clair Hunter used the images to shame the offenders by pinning their pictures up on the doors of her shops after the theft.

One woman handed herself in to the police after seeing the pictures.

But the other two people have not yet been found.

Clair, who runs three shops in the village at The Trentham Estate, said: "I'm very angry that people think they can go into a shop and help themselves during the current climate when business is already hard.

"We have had one or two candles going missing before but nothing like this. It was like a trolley dash and appears to be well thought-out."

The Candle Shop specialises in selling Yankee Candles.

CCTV footage shows the trio entering the store at 1.30pm last Friday.

Manager Andrea Frost, aged 42, from Bucknall, said: "I had a queue of six to nine people and it blocked my vision of the thieves.

"They didn't seem to be acting suspiciously because it looked like they knew the products. They were gone within four minutes and I saw all the gaps on the shelves once the shop had emptied.

"I have worked in retail for a long time but have never seen someone take so much so quickly."

Eighteen large Yankee Candle jars, which retail at £18, were taken.

Staff suspect other smaller items may also have been stolen.

Clair made posters with pictures of the offenders and put them up around the village the following day.

The woman who handed herself in received a caution from the police.

The shop has since had several candles returned.

Clair, aged 38, said: "We lost at least £324, more if we count little items that may have been taken by the same people. No-one can afford to have that amount of stock taken in five minutes.

"We want these people banned and to send a clear message that incidents like this won't be tolerated.

"I don't care if it involves embarrassing them."

A Staffordshire Police spokesman said: "At 11.15am on February 13 a 35-year-old Newcastle woman handed herself in to Newcastle police station and was subsequently arrested on suspicion of theft and received a caution.

"A search of her home resulted in the recovery of eight candles."

Mike Herbert, North Staffordshire Regional Director for St Modwen and The Trentham Estate, said: "We work closely with all venues on site to ensure that the very occasional instances of inappropriate behaviour are managed with due care for all involved."