Crawley has become the second centre in the country to operate a scheme forcing shoplifters to pay a bill of £75.

Anyone caught stealing or assaulting shop assistants in the town will have to pay the bill on top of any court action police might take.

A total of 40 shops are involved in the pay-back scheme which is being organised by Crawley Chamber of Commerce as part of its commerce retail crime initiative.

Scheme chairman and deputy manager of County Mall shopping centre, Duncan McKenzie, said: "Retail crime is a serious problem in this country. An estimated £1.61 billion of goods was stolen last year.

"Theft from stores is often considered a minor crime by the criminal courts. This course of action shows that Crawley retailers mean business."

He said the shoplifting rate in Crawley was not particularly high, partly due to a radio link scheme introduced by the Chamber two years ago, which allows retailers to be in contact with each other to warn about thieves in the town.

Mr McKenzie said: "We have introduced this latest scheme because we want to stay ahead of the game. It is the retailers' way of getting back at thieves. Very often they are professional criminals and we think this will give them a powerful message which will deter them."

The shopkeepers have all been issued with Notes of Intended Recovery which they give to thieves caught on their premises. Police are called who verify the culprit's name and address to allow the shopkeeper to send a bill of £75.

Offenders have 28 days to pay. If they refuse they are persued through the civil courts by a recovery firm, and have to pay the extra costs which this incurs.

The £75 goes to the shopkeeper where the offence occured to help pay for CCTV systems, private policing or security tagging.

Civil recovery was developed in America five years ago where 70 per cent of offenders pay up immediately.

It is being tried out in Manchester and Crawley is now the second centre to adopt the scheme.

Mr McKenzie said: "There is no doubt this scheme has been a huge success in America and Canada. It is an excellent initiative which has shown a significant reduction in retail crime levels."