A TEENAGER from Bromsgrove is the first person to be excluded from entering all town centre shops under a new scheme aimed at cracking down on persistent offenders and trouble makers.
The 15-year-old boy was told last week he is barred for a year under the Bromsgrove Radio Link Exclusion Notice Scheme introduced last month by traders, with the support of police.
The manager of High Street-based Boots, Allan Postgate, who chairs Bromsgrove ShopWatch Action Group which manages the scheme, said the boy was given a verbal description of the ban and the implications if he breaks it as well as a formal notice last Thursday.
Anyone caught stealing from a shop while excluded will be charged with burglary, which carries a stiffer penalty in the courts.
Mr Postgate said: "Exclusion is another weapon in our armoury to combat crime in shops.
"I believe it will be most helpful to traders."
All shops and stores in the town centre are signed up to the scheme.
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