Now shops have to lock up pillowcases: Home furnishing giant Dunelm hides bedclothes in pin-protected cabinets as England suffers rise in shoplifting – after butter, baby formula and meat were locked away elsewhere
- Dunelm was seen to be locking its expensive bedding away in a glass cupboards
Dunelm has locked up duvets and pillowcases in pin-code protected cabinets as Britain faces a rise in shoplifting.
Bedding is the latest in a long list of household goods being locked away, with butter, cheese, meat and baby formula all appearing security tagged in shops in the past year.
Pictures showed Dunelm storing its more expensive bedding away in giant glass cupboards, which need to be opened by a staff member.
Shopper Suzie Morris, 28, couldn’t believe her eyes when she nipped into the home store to find the duvet covers and pillowcases behind cupboards with keypads, she told The Sun.
It comes as the Office for National Statistics revealed that shoplifting levels in England and Wales have risen by 24 per cent in the last year.
Pictures showed Dunelm storing its more expensive bedding away in giant glass cupboards, which need to be opened by a staff member
It comes as the Office for National Statistics revealed that shoplifting levels in England and Wales have risen by 24 per cent in the last year
Many supermarkets introduced security tags or casings on baby formula products in a bid to prevent thefts
Shoppers were left dumbfounded earlier this year after £5 tubs of Lurpak were locked away inside security netting
Experts have said the rise has come as Brits face a ‘severe’ cost of living crisis.
Cuts of beef worth just £3.75 have been spotted in locked boxes on Co-op shelves, as well as ‘display only’ coffee jars after a 200g jar of Kenco Smooth instant coffee rose 13 per cent in price.
In April, a dumbfounded customer shared a video of a 600g tub of Lurpak worth £5.35 locked up in security netting in Aldi on TikTok after spotting it in a store in Kidbrooke, south-east London.
And last December Tesco resorted to putting security tags on its cheese.
One customer at a Tesco Express in Taunton, Somerset, noticed ‘security protected’ stickers were being put on a number of cheeses at the supermarket giant – including its own brand product.
READ MORE: Britain’s shoplift-to-order epidemic: County lines-style gangs hitting stores to steal products and sell them on are ‘being fuelled by people struggling with food bills and high inflation’
Meanwhile, a member of the security staff at the Priorswood Road branch was seen ‘slapping’ the tags on cheeses in the chiller, which would set off the alarm if somebody exited the store without paying.
An Aldi store even placed tags on packets of sweets worth as little as 85p.
The budget supermarket’s Rushey Green branch in Catford, south London, placed yellow security stickers on a range of its confectionary items – including a Kinder Snack Bar priced at 85p, Haribo Tangfastics costing £1 and a pack of five Cadbury Twirls selling for £1.05.
Even baby formula was found stashed behind the counter with the e-cigarettes and spirits or security tagged – as desperate parents are forced to turn to a new ‘black market’ to feed their babies amid the cost of living crisis.
An investigation by Sky News revealed the new ‘black market’ for baby formula, with one set of parents saying they regularly purchase it from a ‘fence’ contact, who sells stolen formula for a third of the shelf price.
Staff at a Co-op franchise in Walthamstow, north London had previously put ‘display only’ coffee jars on it shelves after a 200g jar of Kenco Smooth instant coffee rose 13 per cent in price
Cuts of beef worth just £3.75 were spotted in locked boxes on Co-op shelves in an attempt to deter shoplifting during the cost of living crisis
Tesco had previously put security tags on its cheese amid fears that cash-strapped customers might try to steal it due to the cost-of-living crisis
Baby formula was seen stored away behind the counter with e-cigarettes and spirits in one Sainsbury’s
One mother described how her partner steals formula from supermarkets after the cost of living crisis made it unaffordable.
Speaking about retail theft due to soaring food costs in May, Joshua Bamfield, Director of the Centre for Retail Research, told MailOnline: ‘There are some people who feel that [it’s] the only way they can have a good lifestyle, but they didn’t steal before.
‘Retail theft has increased terrifically over the last 12 months as the cost of living crisis has become more severe.
‘Has retail crime increased because people are hard up? I think the answer is yes.’
He added: ‘There may be a small number of people doing this but if you can make it difficult for them, from a store manager’s point of view, this is a success.
‘If you put electronic tags on some of the most stolen products you make it difficult for the thief to be successful in the hope they will go elsewhere.’
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