Alex Povey, 33, decided to check his CCTV after finding out money was missing

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A Staffordshire businessman has helped police catch a thief who pinched cash from his till after trawling through CCTV himself. Alex Povey combed through footage from six cameras to find the 20-second clip which captured the thief stealing from the shop.

The 33-year-old then went straight to police and revealed all after gathering the evidence of the £200 theft. Mr Povey said he first realised the money was missing from the till when he was cashing up.

He spent two days carefully scouring through footage and checking that every transaction made was correct. Eventually, he spotted the thief with their hands in the till out-of-hours.

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The details were passed on to Staffordshire Police and the thief was voluntarily interviewed, StokeonTrentLive reports. The culprit admitted to his crime and was handed a conditional caution.

He must pay the £200 back to Mr Povey - who runs Povey's Oatcakes in Biddulph, near Stoke-on-Trent - within the next three months. Mr Povey, from Leek, said: "The till was £200 down. I had to sit for two days trawling through CCTV footage and every transaction to prove what had happened.

"It was only when I checked out of hours that I saw it. I couldn’t believe my eyes. The whole incident took 20 seconds, and trying to find 20 seconds when you’ve got six cameras is like finding a needle in a haystack.

"You don’t want to believe it’s theft, you never want to believe it. You’d like to think someone made a genuine mistake.

"Once I had the evidence I spoke to the police. He’s got three months to pay the money back then it’ll be repaid to me by the police. All of the family and staff were shocked about what happened."

Staffordshire Police confirmed they received a report on August 11 of a theft at Povey's Oatcakes on Biddulph High street. A spokesman said: "A male suspect was identified. He has been voluntary interviewed.

"He admitted the offence and was issued with a conditional caution, whereby he will have to pay the money taken, back to the victim. The victim has been fully updated and is happy with this outcome."

Povey’s Oatcakes on Biddulph High Street was opened in 1994 by Alex’s dad Steve Povey. Alex took on the business when he was 23 after Steve died suddenly. They sell oatcakes in store and supply retailers such as Aldi, M&S and cover anywhere from Buxton to Stafford.