A 32-year-old man has been charged with a string of shoplifting offences across Leyland including taking chocolate and butter.

It relates to incidents this month where hundreds of pounds worth of stock, including meat, butter and chocolate items were stolen from multiple stores.

Alex McGregor, 32 of no fixed address, has been charged with a string of shoplifting offences across Leyland including taking chocolate and butter. | Kelvin Lister-Stuttard

placeholder image — Alex McGregor, 32 of no fixed address, has been charged with a string of shoplifting offences across Leyland including taking chocolate and butter. | Kelvin Lister-Stuttard

On Tuesday Alex McGregor, 32 of no fixed address, was arrested and has since been charged with 12 counts of theft from a shop.

He has been remanded into custody and will appear before Preston Magistrates Court this morning.

Operation Vulture is Lancashire Constabulary’s response to shoplifting across the county, backed by Lancashire's Police and Crime Commissioner Clive Grunshaw.

The operation sees dedicated officers undertaking hotspot patrolling, increasing their visibility in targeted areas and creating strong partnerships with retailers across the county to better share intelligence, get a deeper understanding of retail crime and identify more offenders.