Inside UK’s shoplifting epidemic as store boss hit 10 times a day shares CCTV of balaclava-clad thieves and PRAM raiders

A SUPERMARKET owner reveals the trauma of a week on the frontline of Britain’s shoplifting epidemic – bravely confronting balaclava-clad looters and brazen thieves.

Ben Selvaratnam today shares his seven day diary of CCTV footage after being targeted in up to ten thefts and stealing bids a DAY.

The boss of the independent Freshfields store and his staff bravely face up to suspicious shoppers, including two men apparently stuffing items down their shorts and trousers.

Ben’s store lies in Croydon, Surrey, which has seen a staggering 29 per cent hike in shoplifting in a year — well above the national average of 23 per cent in 2022.

It means he has fallen victim to a national crisis that is sweeping our high streets and threatening livelihoods.

Ben shared stills from his security camera to highlight the daily hell faced by beleaguered shopkeepers — as he called for action to help them.

The faces shown here are obscured for legal reasons.

The 39-year-old businessman said: “Hard-working business owners like me are on the frontline of this theft epidemic.

“To my knowledge, in the eight years we have been in business, no-one has been prosecuted.

“It’s out of control. Shoplifting has become effectively decriminalised. It is clearly not a priority for police or the government.

“A new thing is pram raiders, who put food under or next to the baby.

“With some of the mothers and pensioners I have sympathy, because they are not stealing anything with resale value.”

Association of Convenience Stores chief exec James Lowman said daily crime is a brutal reality for thousands of local shop staff.

He added: “We desperately need to get the addicts and gangs terrorising our members off the streets.”

The Met Police said a pilot scheme improving the reporting of non-violent shoplifting would be rolled out across London this autumn, adding: “While it is not realistic to respond to every case of shoplifting, where a crime is being committed, our call handlers will seek to despatch officers where appropriate.”

MONDAY

NO sooner have we opened the Post Office counter than a youth comes in at 9:15am and goes to the till.

We later spot on CCTV that it looks like he’s taking bottles of Coke and putting them in his jacket pockets as he walks out.

Incredibly we have cases where people really are that brazen.

TUESDAY

TWO clean-cut men stroll in, both dressed smart casual, at 12:59pm.

They take out a ­plastic bag and start apparently loading it with Barefoot and Whispering Angel rose wine worth £100 from the fridge.

They are so laid back, seemingly just taking it in their own time. I come out with two staff and challenge them.

My colleague in the grey ­trousers removes the bag from them before they leave.

At 8:17pm, a man walks in and looks like he’s about to take several cans of beer.

We confront him and get them back. Where we can, we get photos of people who act ­suspiciously.

This guy just stood there sticking his tongue out, inset right.

WEDNESDAY

A SHAMELESS youth helps himself to a slushy at 2:33pm.

And then another young lad does just the same, only this one is wearing a balaclava.

He walks in, takes the drink and walks out again.

The staff are understandably stressed by the incident.

Having someone come in hiding their face is terrifying.

THURSDAY

AT 12:15pm, two youths, both with hoods up, come into the shop.

Our staff are suspicious they might be up to no good, so we ­confront them.

Teenagers are notoriously hard to get goods back from. They are usually on bikes.

FRIDAY

IT is 10:14am and a man in his 40s, smoking a cigarette, appears to take a can of lager and attempts to shove it down his trousers.

One of my staff, who is female and 4ft 11in, faces up to him.

We don’t get any items back and he leaves the store.

Later in the day, I confront a ­different man who we think is trying to steal Prosecco and wine.

When I challenge him, he just smashes the bottles on the floor.

He clearly thinks that if he can’t have them, then neither can I.

It is shocking. We have to ­cordon off a section of the supermarket, clean it and it remains sticky for the rest of the day. It is just awful.

The very next Friday, a topless man comes in wearing only shorts.

He walks to the back of the shop, then appears to have a can of alcohol in his hand and looks like he puts it down his waistband.

Some of my staff spot him and challenge him before confiscating it. He’s banned from the store.

SATURDAY

WE think a lady is trying to put her arm through one of the cashier counter hatches between 2pm and 3pm.

A staff member challenges her and she walks out, so we don’t know if she took ­anything. It’s difficult to tell sometimes.

We put up the steel and glass hatches 18 months ago to improve security.

In the evening, there is another incident. Some ­people, who have clearly been drinking, are abusive.

You can get into a snatching game, with pushing and shoving, when you confiscate alcohol. It’s not nice.

SUNDAY

THIS should be a day of rest, but at 3:30pm we are trawling CCTV over one theft when we realise we have potentially missed another.

A woman, dressed in black, is seen next to our butcher counter.

She appears to put an item into one of her bags.

But again, we can’t be sure.

Pram raiders will pay for one or two items but often have double the value hidden by their baby.