Police hunt real-life Christmas Grinch who stole £200 worth of items in a sack

Police are hunting a real-life Grinch who brought a cheap Christmas decoration at a shop – then shoplifted £200 worth of stock in a sack.

CCTV shows the woman doing a spot of Christmas shopping – browsing the shelves for an hour while sneakily stuffing goods into her bag.

Helen Tweddle, manager of the said the Malt House Emporium vintage and antique shop said the woman paid cash for a gold Christmas tree and some incense.

She then walked out with goods worth up to £200 which she’d slipped into a large, open bag.

Ms Tweddle shared the footage in a bid to identify the Christmas thief and warn other local retailers.

She said: ‘We wanted to go public with it as we do not tolerate this one bit, it is not acceptable, shoplifting in general is not acceptable.

‘We are an independent retailer serving our local community.’

There are 80 independent traders selling goods within the Emporium and six traders have been affected by the incident.

She added: ‘They are out of pocket as there is no way for them to recoup their losses, we’re not like big chain stores.’

However, Ms Tweddle has applauded the helpful response from the community and has received a number of promising leads regarding the identity of the woman.

‘We had a really good response online, the video has been viewed over 11,000 times on our Facebook,’ she added.

Gloucestershire Constabulary have issued a statement stating they have ‘received a report of a theft at Malt House Emporium in Tewkesbury, November 20’.

‘It’s believed that a number of items were stolen from within the premises,’ it read

Police said inquiries are ongoing.