WESTON’S street warden team has praised a ‘brilliant’ town centre initiative which led to a wanted thief being jailed.

Two street wardens used the town’s radio link scheme, which enables street wardens, shops and others to communicate directly with the police, to alert officers to a known shoplifter they had spotted in the Tesco car park in Station Road.

The man in question, 19-year-old Jordan Bowers, was wanted by Avon and Somerset Constabulary after stealing a £120 power drill from B&Q in Weston on March 4.

However, he was arrested on March 14, after street wardens and police officers used the radio link to effectively work together, and was later sent to prison.

Dan Berkeley was one of the street wardens involved in the incident.

He said: “My colleague Andy and I saw him (Bowers) walking past Tesco with a young female. We used the radio link to point out to the police that he was in the supermarket car park.

“We followed Bowers into the car park, where two PCSOs turned up and called him over.

“He initially began to approach them, but he suddenly changed his mind and ran off. We caught him by the train station, where he was arrested straight away.

“The radio link is brilliant. It was particularly beneficial in this instance because we would not have got this man without being able to confirm with the police that he was still wanted.

“We are a great town centre team and we work very well together.”

Gail Parsons is in charge of the street warden team.

She said: “The radio link scheme means both the street wardens and the police have radios.

“We can all talk to each other very quickly, so if anything is suspicious, or if anyone has a warrant out against them, we can let the police know.

“This was a particularly good stop and it shows the joint approach is working. It was proper teamwork.”

Bowers, from Ashcombe Road in Weston, appeared at North Somerset Courthouse on March 16 and pleaded guilty to theft from a shop.

He was sentenced to two weeks in prison and a suspended four-week sentence against him was also activated, meaning he will spend a total of six weeks in prison.

The suspended sentence related to thefts from Costa Coffee and Spar in Weston High Street, and an assault against a female police officer.