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Police patrols protecting local retailers swiftly arrested a suspected shoplifter just minutes after a mobile phone was reportedly snatched from shelves on November 7, 2025.
Officers were called to Robert Dyas on High Street at 12:40 pm after staff challenged a man suspected of stealing a phone. The suspect was quickly identified and detained near Tonbridge Castle. A man aged 45, from Maidstone, has been charged with multiple offences, including theft, possessing an offensive weapon (a hammer), and a second shoplifting incident in Tonbridge on November 5 involving items taken from a B&M store. He also faces two charges of theft from a supermarket in Salford, Manchester, on October 6, and failing to provide a drug test sample in custody.
The man appeared before Sevenoaks Magistrates’ Court on November 8 and was remanded in custody. His next hearing is set for December 11.