A man has been arrested after staff saw meat and Milkybars stolen from their shop being raffled on Facebook.

Employees of Heron in Newton Aycliffe stopped officers on patrol and told them they had spotted the items advertised as part of ‘bonus ball’ competition on social media.

A spokesperson for Durham Constabulary said: “On Saturday afternoon (September 14) neighbourhood PCs Adam Crawford and Josh Roberts were patrolling Newton Aycliffe town centre when staff at Heron reported a shoplifting incident.

“Workers mentioned that they'd seen the suspected stolen goods posted on Facebook as part of a ‘bonus ball’.

The caption read ‘1 to 50, £1 a number, Meats all in good date back in my fridge, 36 bars of Milkybar Gold.’

“After a bit of detective work, PC Crawford and Roberts tracked down the address where the items were being raffled from and seized a large quantity of rump steak and Milkybar Gold.

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“To the delight of the staff, the items were returned to the store within the hour.”

Police said a man was interviewed under caution and is ‘being dealt with’.

Durham Constabulary has been contacted for further information.