Thieves are hitting York city centre businesses with a shoplifting scam which means they do not even have to walk into the store.

The criminals have come up with a "sting" that enables them to lift stock off the shelves through the letterbox in the dead of night, using a specially adapted telescopic pole.

The three-strong gang claim they have already relieved shops of thousands of pounds worth of goods - and say they'll carry on until they are caught.

A gang member said: "It's easy. Two of us go into town posing as beggars. We then pick a shop doorway and pretend to be begging in it, while the other crouches behind us.

"He then props the letterbox open, pushes through the lifting device and hooks things off the shelves. It can be a bit tricky at first, but after a bit of practice it becomes easy and you can make hundreds of pounds in a night."

Today, police warned shops to take immediate steps to protect their letterboxes, if they feel they could fall prey to the sting.

The gang member declined to name the most recent stores he has hit, "in case they step up security", but said one of the gang's recent targets had been Clubhouse, in Low Petergate.

He added: "This will probably disgust people, and in some ways I can see why, but at the end of the day, we have got to make a living and this is a fairly easy way to do it."

Superintendent John Lacy, of York Police, said: "I am aware that this ploy was used once, but thought the majority of city centre businesses had secured themselves against it.

"If that is not the case, then I would advise those businesses that have not taken steps to prevent this sort of crime to do so as quickly as possible."