A man and woman have been charged with stealing more than £11,000 of alcohol from various supermarkets across east Kent in a six-month spree.

Four of the alleged shoplifting offences were at Tesco stores in Ramsgate, Broadstairs, Sheerness and Tenterden.

In one theft in January, alcohol worth £2,610 was taken from a store in Tenterden.

The incidents are said to have happened from July 2022 to January 2023, and amounted to £11,684 worth of stolen goods.

Stores in Dover and Folkestone were also hit.

The pair are also accused of the attempted theft of £720 worth of booze from a store in Ramsgate and stealing alcohol worth £1,680 from a shop in Worcestershire.

Ionela Catalina Voicu and Ion Ciprian Dumitru, both from London, were each charged on Sunday with nine counts of shoplifting and one count of attempted theft.

A police spokesman said: "Two people have been charged following a police investigation into suspected criminal groups stealing large amounts of alcohol from supermarkets in east Kent.

"The arrests were made in London on Friday, March 10 after the 40-year-old man and the 30-year-old woman were seen in a vehicle which was stopped by officers from the Metropolitan Police."

The pair appeared at Folkestone Magistrates’ Court on Monday and were released on conditional bail until their next appearance at Canterbury Crown Court on April 11.