Thanks very much - I feel a bit better about it but still just totally sick and angry at myself. My hope is that, as you have said, having dealt with it in store they won't go through the hassle of getting the police involved afterwards.

Thanks so much for the replies. If they did choose to have the police investigate the theft, how long would that usually take to come through?

I was caught shoplifting some earrings from Topshop yesterday by the LP officer. I know what I did was totally wrong and I am completely and utterly ashamed of myself. I feel dreadful and I deserve the scare they gave me. They approached me outside the shop and asked me to come with them to the holding room. When there, I admitted I had taken a pair of earrings and gave them back. The LP officer kept asking me about a gold necklace that I knew I hadn't taken so I took all my stuff out and showed them I didn't have it. I was in a real state of shock and fear and had (honestly or maybe just in fear) forgotten I had taken another pair of earrings which he had thought was a necklace. They did not get the police involved or mention the police at all. They took my photo, name, and address from my driving license and gave me an exclusion order from any of the shops in the Arcadia group. I then paid for the earrings and was escorted out. The thing I am mostly concerned about is, would they (having dealt with it in house and by giving a ban to me) bother reviewing the CCTV tapes regarding the earrings I did not give back? And then pursue further action based on that evidence? The items were only about £5 if that makes any difference. I am so so worried about this. I have never stolen before and feel totally disgusted with my behaviour. Any help would be so so appreciated. Edit - I gave back one pair of earrings and paid for them. The other pair were in my pocket the whole time so I didn't give them back but the LP officer certainly suspected/knew I had taken something else. I was panicking so much I think I just completely forgot about the other pair. It's the fact that I didn't hand these over and think it will be on CCTV that worries me about further action.