People are urged to be wary of thieves selling stolen packets of bacon to feed their drug habit.

The warning comes after a chain of shops in the region had to save its bacon by locking stocks away in the back of the store after a spate of thefts.

Tom Hinton, area manager of Gillen's Stores, said its branches throughout Hartlepool has withdrawn the packets from open sale.

He said: "Due to the amount of bacon being stolen we have had to put it out the back in a special refrigerator.

"It is people under the influence of drugs who are causing the problem. Once they have stolen the bacon they are going around the streets selling it to feed their habits."

There is also high demand for baby products, such as nappies and baby oil, and jars of coffee