Shop owner from Derby who caught suspected shoplifter was ordered to release him by police

• CCTV footage captures the moment a man allegedly attempts to steal a tub of washing machine tablets

A shop owner from Derby who caught a suspected shoplifter, and trapped him inside the shop, was told he would be arrested if he didn't release him.

Jarnail Singh Atwal caught the man allegedly attempting to steal a tub of washing machine tablets at his shop, Broomhall Off Licence in Chaddesden on 17 February.

The 67-year-old owner then locked the doors so that the man was unable to escape. The man then threatened to set the shop on fire.

When Mr Atwal called Derbyshire police, he was told to set the man free or face prosecution, as he posed a threat to the other members of the public who were also trapped inside.

The man was then freed, without the box of tables that he was allegedly attempting to steal.

• In an interview with ITV News Central, Mr Atwal explained what happened

Mr Atwal said: “He went to the back, opened his bag, put the box of Ariel in his bag and went straight out.

"But my wife noticed him on the camera and rang me so I followed him and dragged him back into the shop and searched him.”

He added: “I locked the door and phoned the police. But the police responded telling me to ‘let him out or we’ll prosecute you’.

"It’s disgusting, is there any chance [of finding him] now? I don’t know who he was and if they need any evidence, it was recorded.

"They could have prosecuted him straight away.”

A spokesperson for Derbyshire police said: “Officers were called to reports that a man had been caught shoplifting at a store in Wiltshire Road, Chaddesden, on 17 February.

"The caller explained that the man accused of shoplifting from the store had been locked in the shop – along with a number of other customers.

“The caller explained that the man was allegedly making threats to harm those inside by setting fire to the shop.

"Due to those threats – and the risk that was posed to the other customers – the caller was told that the door should be unlocked.

"Since the incident officers have spoken with the owner of the shop in order to request CCTV in order to try and identify the man involved.”