THE owners of Marlow sweet shop Beehive Treats have spoken of the moment they caught one of their employees stealing money during the night.

Neil and Jane Hutton's suspicions were aroused when they thought money was going missing from the till during the night.

Oliver Longstaff, 20, of Glade Road, Marlow was sentenced on Monday for burglary at Wycombe Magistrates Court. (see link below) They decided to investigate it themselves and let the police know what they were doing, who cautioned them about their personal safety.

They set up a homemade CCTV system and on June 25 hid in the back of the Spittal Street shop.

Mr Hutton said as they were not certain they would hear someone coming into the shop from their hiding place they set up “little traps.”

He said: “They weren't ridiculously obvious to a burglar.

"The first thing we heard was the shop bell.

"We heard that ring as he opened it and then closed it.

“And then there was a Windolene bottle set so he would trip over that, which he did.

"And then there were some bin bags that he brushed past and he did that too and we knew where he was at that point.

“We weren't expecting him to go to the loo.”

Mr Hutton, 47, said they placed some drink cans by the door which were near their hiding place as he went to leave by the back door.

It was then that they pounced on him and called the police.

He said they were shocked it was one of their staff.

He added: “It has always been out policy to hire young people from the town and that has been an incredibly positive thing for us and for the young people we hire.

“To have one where that was not the case was an enormous surprise. The rest of them are fantastic.”

Mr Hutton encouraged people not to do something like this unless they absolutely have to.

He added: “We took all kinds of precautions.”