Shoplifting in my store is so bad I've had to make 50 citizen's arrests myself - it's the only way I can get the police to turn up!

A have-a-go-hero store owner in one of Britain's under-siege town centres plagued by shoplifters says he has to make citizen's arrests as the only way for police to show. Happy Piranha store owner Martin Gaunt has revealed how they have carried out 50 citizen's arrests in two years due to shoplifters He has installed 12 CCTV cameras at his three stores in Truro, Cornwall, which have captured footage showing some of the reactions when suspected shoplifters are confronted And in Devon and Cornwall, the rise was as much as 37 per cent - yet across the country less than a fifth of recorded shoplifting offences resulted in a charge or summons in the year to last March. Happy Piranha store owner Martin Gaunt has 12 CCTV cameras, with plans to install four more Freedom of information requests earlier this year found that the Cleveland Police area had the highest crime rates per 1,000 people, across England and Wales Chief Constable Amanda Blakeman, the National Police Chiefs' Council lead for acquisitive crime, told the BBC they were 'committed' to cutting shoplifting and holding offenders to account. Mr Gaunt, 62, says he has faced threats of physical violence - as well as 'indignation' when thieves are challenging for taking items from his gift shops July was the most common month for shoplifting offences, research has found 'Then I later found police didn't interview him for six months, even though he's seen in the town every day, and he was never prosecuted for this crime. Mr Gaunt, whose stores trade as Happy Piranha, uses powers of arrest under Section 24A of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984 - pictured is a scene caught on his CCTV When contacted by MailOnline, a force spokesperson said: 'Devon and Cornwall Police is committed to working with business owners to offer advice on how to protect their premises by introducing CCTV and added security.