Shoplifting in Croydon town centre has dropped by more than a quarter since a pioneering three strikes and out scheme began banning repeat troublemakers.

The scheme – a first for London – has been hailed a success since its inception by the Croydon Business Crime Reduction Partnership (CBCRP) four months ago.

Members of the partnership post details of thieves and antisocial yobs to a private website, where they are given three chances before being banned from all of the group’s stores.

CBCRP chairman Andrew Bauer said the scheme had dealt a huge blow to crime in the town centre since it became operational.

He said: “We’ve had a 26 per cent drop in shoplifting, and the impact of that is probably better than the ratio in terms of what it’s saving.

“From my experience here, each theft from a store is into three figures on average and that has an impact on customers because it has to be factored into the costs of the goods.”

The partnership has also been working with local pubs and Transport for London (TfL) to extend surveillance of town centre criminals.

Mr Bauer said: “It’s fair to say a large majority of retail crime is actually perpetrated by quite a small number of individuals. As you start removing those individuals the effect is quite pronounced.

“We’re linking with pubs and TfL because shoplifters will nick from the stores, then go and fence it in pubs and drink and whatever.

“They then go on to public transport and create a nuisance because they’re drunk.

“What we’re trying to do is change people’s behaviour. We don’t really want to be sticking people in jail or through the courts.”

The CBCRP has also been recognised with a Safer Business award for its work promoting communication between businesses, the police and other key organisations in the town centre.

Inspector Simon Ellingham, from Croydon police’s town centre team, said: “The partnership has brought together a number of key agencies within the town centre, who all have an interest in reducing the opportunities for criminals to target the area.

“Regular offenders have been identified, and a more targeted, focused approach has reaped dividends.

“There is now far greater confidence in the ability of police to attend and deal with detained people, and we have seen a significant reduction in repeat offending.”