Supermarket overturns ban on 5 and 8-year-olds caught stealing

Woolworths has changed its mind and overturned a ban against a five-year-old and eight-year-old caught stealing a bag of lollies.

The youngsters were given trespass notices banning them for two years after they were nabbed at the store last Saturday.

The Timaru Herald reported the girls were with an 18-year-old who left the Woolworths supermarket before the two were caught with the $1.50 bag of sweets.

They were forced to sign the trespass notices banning them from both Woolworths and Countdown.

Today Foodtown and Woolworths manager Dave Chambers said there had been an error of judgment in giving trespass notices to children so young and without their parents' knowledge.

It was company policy to contact children's parents or guardians in such cases, and usually to issue trespass orders only to shoplifters aged over 14.

He would contact the families and apologise.

- NZPA