UK Edition
'Bog roll bandits': three people arrested after toilet paper heist
Essex police posted about the attempted heist on Twitter, with the hashtag #ThatsHowWeRoll.
Three people were arrested in Essex last night after stealing a haul of toilet roll.
Police rolled into action last night after receiving a 999 call to report the burglary - within an hour they tracked down the suspected thieves, who had a van full of stolen toilet paper.
The Essex Police Operational Support Group (OSP) posted about the attempted heist on Twitter last night, with the hashtag #ThatsHowWeRoll.
“Police officers always get a massive sense of satisfaction when we catch burglars... however we never expected to find this stolen loot in the boot,” they wrote.
The force posted three pictures alongside the Tweet, showing a silver Ford van outside a housing estate and a boot full of hundreds of toilet rolls the ‘bog roll bandits’ had stolen.
“Stolen items recovered and three arrested all within an hour of it being reported #ThatsHowWeRoll,” the tweet added.
An Essex Police spokesman added: "We have arrested three men for burglary offences just 30 minutes after receiving a call about suspicious activity in Hatfield Peverel.
"A 28-year-old man from Aveley, a 41-year-old man from Purfleet and a 37-year-old man from South Ockendon remain in custody on suspicion of theft of a vehicle and burglary.
"Inside the vehicle was stolen items including hand wash and dozens of packs of toilet rolls."
Under the original Twitter post from Essex OSP, which has been liked more than 400 times, users responded that the attempted heist was a “sign of the times”.
But others have replied with more lighthearted comments - including Leon Dias, a special superintendent with Essex Police Special Constabulary. “You really are on a roll with your results!”, he wrote.
“Please can I have 1 roll before you book in to property,” another user, Louise, wrote.
Amid the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent shut down, panic-buying has become increasingly common across the UK.
Toilet paper has been particularly targeted, with supermarket shelves cleared despite repeated reassurances that there is ample supply.
Andrew Large, director-general of the Confederation of Paper Industries said last week that scenes of empty supermarket shelves suggest an irrational response by the public.
“Paper mills work 24/7 and there is stock in the system,” he said. “The UK has materials to produce toilet roll to last for weeks, if not months.”