A repeat shoplifter who allegedly fled from police in an Audi TT after stealing from an M&S store in Tunbridge Wells was eventually tracked down and arrested at her home.

Andrea Berquez, 41, was caught on CCTV refusing to stop for an officer after allegedly taking an item from the supermarket’s fruit and vegetable section on May 15.

The dramatic pursuit began when a plainclothes officer spotted Berquez leaving the store with the stolen goods and attempted to stop her.

Instead, she made her way to her Audi TT and drove away.

Second attempt to stop her ends in another escape

The officer made a second attempt to intervene when Berquez stopped at traffic lights.

But she allegedly refused to stop again and drove away.

The Audi was later spotted by patrolling officers in Five Oak Green. They pursued the vehicle and eventually brought it to a stop, before pulling Berquez from the car and arresting her.

CCTV footage released in connection with the incident shows an officer repeatedly ordering her to “get out of the car” as police moved in.

Berquez was subsequently charged with five counts of theft committed between April 25 and May 15.

She pleaded guilty and was sentenced at Maidstone Magistrates’ Court on September 14 to a two-year conditional discharge order.

A public court record also lists five shop-theft offences in a case involving Berquez at Maidstone Magistrates’ Court.

Shoplifting figures have risen sharply

The case comes amid wider concern over the scale of shop theft across England and Wales.

House of Commons Library figures analysed by the Liberal Democrats showed that shoplifting offences reported to police rose from 228,128 in 2020-21 to 530,457 in 2024-25—an increase of 133 per cent. Only 19.8 per cent of offences recorded in 2024-25 resulted in a charge, according to the analysis.

The figures varied considerably between police forces.

The Metropolitan Police recorded 93,626 shoplifting offences in 2024-25, compared with 31,008 in 2020-21. Its charge rate in 2024-25 was 6.5 per cent.

At the other end of the figures cited in the original analysis, Durham Constabulary recorded charges in 32.7 per cent of cases, followed by Humberside at 31.9 per cent and Norfolk at 30.6 per cent.

The Metropolitan Police has said retail crime remains a priority. Chief Inspector Rav Pathania, the force’s lead for tackling retail crime, previously said officers had increased arrests and solved more shoplifting cases, pointing to the use of technology such as facial recognition and closer cooperation with retailers.

Pathania also argued that police investigations can be hampered when businesses do not provide CCTV footage. He said the Met did not receive CCTV in around 80 per cent of reported crimes in the previous year and claimed that, when footage was supplied, officers could identify a large proportion of suspects by comparing images with databases of known offenders.

The Met has subsequently reported a 3 per cent fall in shoplifting offences in London between April 2025 and March 2026 compared with the previous year. Its positive outcome rate—including charges, cautions and penalty notices—was reported at 14 per cent in 2024-25, up from 8 per cent the year before.

Retailers call for tougher action

Retail businesses have also warned about the impact of shop theft and abuse on their employees.

Marks & Spencer retail director Thinus Keeve previously said customer-facing staff were experiencing violence and abuse on a daily basis and called for stronger action from the Government and London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan.

His comments followed unrest at an M&S store in Clapham, south London, where hundreds of young people reportedly gathered around high-street shops as part of an online trend.

Costa Coffee has also responded to repeated shoplifting incidents by hiring security guards at around 10 stores.

Lucy Whing, crime policy lead at the British Retail Consortium, said the scale of shop theft was a major concern and that retailers were being forced to take measures to protect their businesses and staff.

She also backed legislative changes designed to strengthen the response to retail crime.

New law targets retail worker assaults and low-value theft

The legislation referenced in the original report has since become the Crime and Policing Act 2026.

The Act introduced a specific offence covering assaults against retail workers and removed the previous special treatment for shop theft involving goods worth £200 or less. The government says the changes are intended to strengthen protections for retail workers and ensure shop theft is treated as a general theft offence rather than remaining a summary-only offence based on the value of the goods.

The new retail-worker assault offence applies to people working in or around retail premises and carries a maximum sentence of six months for offences committed before the relevant sentencing provision takes effect, with the maximum later becoming 51 weeks.

The reforms followed years of concern from retailers and police about violence, abuse and theft on Britain’s high streets.

Shoplifting remains above pre-pandemic levels

The latest figures cited in the original report showed 519,381 shoplifting offences recorded in England and Wales in the year to September 2025, up 5 per cent from 492,660 in the previous year.

A total of 530,439 offences had been recorded in the year to March 2025.

The rise has been accompanied by a change in the pace of increase. The Government has pointed to the 5 per cent annual rise as evidence that the growth in shop theft has slowed compared with the 29 per cent increase recorded in the year before Labour came to power.

Comparisons with 2020-21 also need to be treated carefully because the coronavirus pandemic forced many shops to close during lockdown restrictions.

Against that broader backdrop, the case involving Berquez provides another example of the challenges faced by retailers and police when dealing with repeat shop theft—and the lengths officers may go to when a suspect attempts to flee after an alleged offence.