A couple who run one of Tenby’s busiest stores have once again highlighted how AI technology is being utilised to help catch shoplifters, and help traders ‘make a stand’ against retail crime.

Vince Malone who took the helm at Tenby Stores & Post Office back in 2014 with his wife Fiona, had previously stated that thieves were costing them £26,000 a year while they struggled to persuade police to take cases forward.

Vince who is also a senior figure at the Fed (National Federation of Independent Retailers) explained to the BBC this month, how AI technology is helping the business to tackle shoplifting.

Detailing the technology they installed, which tracks and manages people as they move around the shop, so that if they make a suspicious gesture, it pings up a little video on a mobile phone, allowing the management to immediately take action, Vince explained: “It pings within our ears in about 5 seconds...it allows us then to be proactive in our approach.

“It’s given us control back, it allows us to get on the front foot really.

“It’s costing us in excess of £5,000 a year, but it’s about us making a stand and saying, do you know what, enough is enough, and this has got to stop!

“We’ve got it in as much for people’s safety as well. It’s not about this ‘big brother’ - it’s about us actually saying, as a community, we want to be safe; and it’s about us being proud of where we live,” he continued.

In a previous interview with Victoria Derbyshire on BBC’s Newsnight programme, the couple had told the presenter that such matters are not a ‘victimless’ crime and should have stronger ‘consequences’, explaining how shoplifting sometimes occurred daily at the store situated opposite Tenby’s historical town walls.