Man charged with stealing dummies from babies

Man charged with five counts of theft and three counts of common assault

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A man has been charged after a series of incidents in which someone approached people with babies and removed the infants’ dummies.

Essex Police said Josh Guilder, of no fixed address, has been charged with five counts of theft, three counts of common assault and a public order offence.

The 23-year-old is due to appear before Chelmsford Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday.

Four incidents had been reported to police between February 10 and August 7 in the Staple Tye Shopping Centre, Woodcroft, Parsloe Road and Cooks Spinney areas of Harlow.

Detective Chief Inspector Alan Blakesley said: “We know these incidents rightly caused concern amongst the community in Harlow.

“We acted quickly and decisively in investigating these matters and I would like to thank the multitude of people who shared our appeals and came forward with information to assist us with our inquiries.”