Shop owner: 'I'm losing £1,500 each month due to shoplifting - and brazen teens are to blame'

Watch: Shop owner losing £1,500 a month to 'epidemic of shoplifting'

A shop owner has revealed his business is losing around £1,500 a month to what he has branded a 'shoplifting epidemic'.

Saba Mahesh says his four stores are targeted daily by youths whose anti-social and criminal behaviour has worsened since the pandemic, forcing him to put his prices up to make up for his financial losses.

The 50-year-old estimates that young people make away with goods worth as much as £50 in a single day from his stores in Sheerness, on the Isle of Sheppey in Kent.

To demonstrate his plight, he shared CCTV footage of youths brazenly stealing vapes and sweets from his shelves.

His situation echoes concerns highlighted by Co-op Food boss Matt Hood, who recently said stores had seen a surge in crime - and accusations of profiteering did not help the situation.

Hood's comments came after Co-op released figures showing that cases of crime, shoplifting and anti-social behaviour were up 35%, while police were not responding to more than 70% of call-outs to stores over theft.

He told the Telegraph: "I was reading some of the comments when we’ve spoken about shoplifting being on the rise and people were saying 'well, they are making so much money, so what difference does it make?’

"What drives me insane is the amount of people who want to claim it is victimless. Tell me, if that was your child working in that shop, would you say it is a victimless crime because it is fundamentally not."

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Mahesh said the constant crime in his own stores had left him with no choice but to put his prices up.

He said: "We’re really struggling, it’s a tough situation to be in.

"Because we’re losing money have no other option but to stop special offers on some products and raise the prices on others.

"I have to find a way to cut our losses that’s why milk has risen from £1.70 to £1.90. My hands are tied."

He said he believes teenagers' behaviour had significantly deteriorated since the Covid lockdowns, and said the problem increases during the school holidays.

"I have been reporting the children who come into my stores and steal things since 2021," he added.

"It always seems to be teenagers between 15 and 18 years old who cause issues.

“Since the Covid pandemic things have gotten really bad. These kids are stealing sweets, toys and even forcefully taking boxes of disposable vapes from behind the counters.

"What can you do? The kids keep coming back because they’re getting away with it.

"If myself and my staff are busy serving other customers they sneak in and steal without us realising.

“I can’t invest in security guards either as it will be a waste of money that’ll further eat into my profits."

Shoplifting is among wider issues of crime and anti-social behaviour in Sheerness and the surrounding area, which has seen a play castle burnt down in a children's play area, parked cars damaged. In nearby Minster-On-Sea a war memorial statue was damaged and seaside toilets were set ablaze.

Sheerness County Youth Centre boss Ray Featherstone previously blamed some issues on a lack of provision for children in the area.

He said: "Youth work is reducing and that’s because the volunteering sector is very poor at the moment.

"There isn’t anything for young people to do and because of that teenagers trying to have some fun suddenly start doing something illegal instead."