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FRUIT & Nut chocolate bars costing just £1.35 have been locked away in security boxes at Co-op branches.

The treats became the latest everyday item to be protected from thieves in the shoplifting epidemic.

Dairy Milk Fruit & Nut is the latest everyday item to be protected from thieves in the shoplifting epidemic
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Dairy Milk Fruit & Nut is the latest everyday item to be protected from thieves in the shoplifting epidemicCredit: Cadburys
Chocolate fans have spotted the sweets caged in plastic boxes across supermarkets in the South East
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Chocolate fans have spotted the sweets caged in plastic boxes across supermarkets in the South EastCredit: Twitter

Cadbury’s other favourite, Dairy Milk Caramel, has also been locked up.

Co-ops in upmarket Cambridge and parts of London have put them in the tagged plastic boxes.

Matthew Moore, browsing shelves in London, said: “It’s extraordinary. I stopped and stared, thinking perhaps there was something special about the chocolate.

“What next? A security- tagged 25p Freddo?”

READ MORE SHOPLIFTING NEWS

Readers have also spotted instant coffee, butter, shortbread and oven chips with security tags at shops around the country.

A Co-op spokesman said: “Our staff’s safety is a key priority and security cases form part of a range of preventative measures to deter thieves.

Retail crime is driven by repeat and prolific offenders and is often a flashpoint for abuse and attacks on retail workers.

“Products in security cases tend to be high-value items but other goods can be secured if there is a local issue.”

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Shoppers have noticed stores are protecting dairy products like butter
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Shoppers have noticed stores are protecting dairy products like butterCredit: Kevin Dunnett
Instant coffee is another product supermarkets are locking away from theives
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Instant coffee is another product supermarkets are locking away from theivesCredit: LNP
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