FOUR women have been arrested after hundreds of pounds of goods were stolen from a shopping centre in Braintree.

The arrests were made on Saturday after police received information about a car being linked to a theft from a shop in Braintree Village.

Officers stopped the Citroen Grand Picasso in Harlow.

Essex Police said that inquiries at the scene established the car was on suspected false plates and that £300 of suspected stolen goods, including clothing, was in the boot.

Four women from London – aged 16, 25, 29 and 59 – were all arrested on suspicion of theft of goods from a shop and handling stolen goods. 

The 59-year-old woman was further arrested on suspicion of driving without a licence and no insurance and the uninsured vehicle was seized.

It came as Essex Police's Operational Police Command made eight arrests in just 24 hours 

Over the last twenty-four hours, officers from our have made eight arrests, tackling crime and keeping you safe.

All eight remained in police custody for questioning on Sunday

Supt Philip Stinger said: “Despite the bad weather, policing still goes on.

"My officers are still patrolling, still tackling high-harm crimes, still keeping people safe and still catching criminals.

“Safeguarding our community is our priority, and we do so many things during the course of our patrols that have a positive impact.

“Last night, there was variety in our work, from officers helping a person requiring medical assistance in Southend get to hospital, to issuing a fixed penalty notice for someone using a mobile phone whilst driving, thereby keeping our roads safe.

“My officers stopped a car last night where it was suspected the driver may have been drink driving, but thankfully, after they were breathalysed, it was a negative result.

"But we will continue to support our Roads Policing colleagues as they tackle this issue through their #drinkdrivingtogetherwecanstopit campaign.”