BRAZEN thieves stole more than a hundred pounds worth of cleaning products as they raided shelves at a petrol station, and then returned the next evening for more.

Jet petrol station, on Canvey High Street, was targeted by thieves at roughly 5.25pm on Wednesday.

Two women entered the store, before loading cleaning products into a bag, grabbing some groceries, and calmly exiting the shop.

They stole goods worth £150 before returning on Thursday, only to be recognised by the manager and fleeing.

Manager Mervin Amirtharaja said shoplifting is an issue.

He said: “The amount of stock we lose through this is ridiculous.

“There seems to be a real problem on the island at the moment, this is definitely not the first time we have been targeted and I know other shops on the island have as well.

“They don’t care, they are so brazen about it they do not even cover their faces or try to hide it at all.”

The manager feared that the shoplifting crimes are being committed by an organised group.

Mr Amirtharaja added: “We’ve been having trouble like this for a couple of months now, every couple of days you count the stock and realise you are down on numbers yet again.

“It is rife on the island, and it is happening to a lot of businesses. I can’t say it is the same people of course, but there seems to be some kind of organised group.

“If you’ve stolen one pound or a thousand, you need to be punished. I just can’t get how open they are.

“As I said to my employees, this is more than just stock, this is my business. They may as well have been in my home.” An Essex Police spokesman said: “Officers are investigating reports of a theft in High Street, Canvey, that happened shortly before 5.30pm on Wednesday. Two women entered the Jet Petrol station with one carrying a large white bag. One of the suspects has taken a number of items from the shop and left without paying. No arrests have been made. “