Police were today carrying out a two-pronged assault on thieves who ruin Christmas for their victims.

As detectives opened the doors of their Aladdin's Cave at the Fulford Road HQ, for burglary victims to check if their property was there, an anti-shoplifting drive was in operation.

It is thought the thousands of pounds worth of goods on show today were stolen from the east side of the city over the last two years, but burglary victims across the whole of York were invited to go along.

Acting Det Insp Steve Maud said the property included bikes, jewellery and ornaments.

"You name it, it's here," he said.

"People who have suffered a burglary may not realise that a particular item was taken, but if they come down we will try to match them up with their goods."

The event is being held as police in the region repeated warnings to shoplifters and opportunist thieves in the last week before Christmas.

An anti-shoplifting campaign in the area has resulted in three Scarborough-based criminals being arrested.

Sgt Paul Warner, of Malton Police, said Operation Yuletide had got under way with letters being sent to shopkeepers in the town in order to raise awareness of the problem.

"Shops were given a priority telephone number to report persons acting suspiciously or suspected of committing crime."

He said: "I have the following message for the shoplifter, don't come to Malton and steal as you will get caught."

A three-day blitz on shoplifting in York earlier this week led to 20 arrests and the recovery of hundreds of pounds worth of property.

And police warned people considering taking the cheap option when out Christmas shopping: "Shoplifting will not be tolerated in York, no matter how small the value."

Store detectives teamed up with undercover and uniformed officers for the three-day crackdown.

Sgt Dave Kirby, who led the operation, said: "The stores will contact the police, no matter how small the value of the property taken.

"The police in York will then arrest the suspect - shoplifting will not be tolerated in York."

Anyone who visits the police station this weekend should bring some form of identification and a note of their crime incident number. Anyone unsure of their incident number should contact the York helpdesk on 01904 631321.

The stolen goods were available for viewing until 4pm today and between 10am and 4pm tomorrow.

see COMMENT Crackdown on festive thieves

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