7 JULY 1984, Page 23

Fine distinction

Sir: Perhaps Nicholas Coleridge (Diary, 23 June) would explain to us the difference between pilfering notepaper, blotting paper etc and shoplifting. A week ago a man in Cornwall was fined £25 for stealing an article worth less than £2. What is the difference? We should be told.

Diana M. Robertson

Liskeard, Cornwall