Thief suffers prompt karma as he takes on the Co-op ‘Superwoman’
- Do YOU know the brave Co-op worker? Email [email protected]
An enraged shop worker has been dubbed ‘Superwoman’ after she tackled a suspected thief in a firm-handed display of justice.
The woman was caught on camera pinning the alleged crook against the wall after he attempted to sprint out of a Co-op store in Edgeley, Stockport.
Wearing a baseball cap and Nike jumper, the man was filmed being chased through the store by three members of staff.
Clutching a bottle of detergent and what appeared to be a pack of meat, the fleet-footed thug skipped over a customer’s foot as they tried to trip him up.
But his luck run out when he reached the exit and came face-to-face with the furious female worker, who charged at him.
Do YOU know the brave Co-op worker? Email [email protected]
The suspected shoplifter was filmed being chased through a Co-op store in Edgeley near Stockport, Greater Manchester
But as he reached the exit of the shop, he encounters this courageous Co-op worker he pushed him back into the shop, yelling ‘
The woman – dubbed ‘Superwoman’ – then looks to pin the man against the wall as she demands him to hand over the goods in his hands
In a moment of instant karma, the woman is filmed grabbing the man by the scruff of the neck with one hand and shoving him back into the store.
Pinning him to the wall, the courageous Co-op worker yells: ‘Do you want me again!? Do you want me again!?’
‘Put it down,’ the worker adds, as the cowardly thug backs down, saying: ‘All right, all right.’
Three other members of staff come to her aid, with one taking the pack of meat from the shoplifter’s hand.
The dramatic video, shared on social media last night, is the latest to capture the shoplifting epidemic blighting Britain’s beleaguered retailers.
It comes as police forces have largely stopped punishing shoplifters as the number of offences rises to record levels, official figures revealed.
Retail experts have repeatedly warned that the rise of shoplifting is being driven by the perception that it was a risk-free crime.
And the idea that most shoplifters are getting off scot-free is supported by newly uncovered statistics, which show all forms of punishment are in decline.
The woman is joined by three of her colleagues as she is filming pinning the alleged shoplifter to the wall during the incident
Just 431 shoplifters in the year to March received fixed penalty notices – the lowest form of punishment for goods under £100 – down 98 per cent from 19,419 a decade ago.
The use of cautions, which are added to an offender’s criminal record, has also plummeted from 16,281 in 2014 to only 2,077 in the last year – a drop of 87 per cent.
People have since taken to social media to praise the brave Co-op worker after the video of tackling the alleged thief was shared today.
‘Wow, that woman is a SUPERWOMAN! The way she grabbed him, you go girl!’ wrote one person.
Another added: ‘She deserves a pay rise! What a legend.’
‘That lady is a hero.’ wrote a third person, with a another adding: ‘Fair play to that bird [sic] braver than most fellas.’
MailOnline has approach Co-op and Greater Manchester Police for comment.
Earlier this month a senior Co-op executive revealed shoplifters are using wheelie bins and builders’ bags to clear entire aisles of food and drink.
Paul Gerrard, Co-op’s public affairs director, says supermarkets across the UK are seeing their meat, sweets and booze sections ransacked as shoplifting levels surge to record highs.
Supermarkets across the UK are seeing their meat, sweets and booze sections ransacked as shoplifting levels surge to record highs (pictured: A machete wielding gang eaping over a counter wielding the weapons and grabbing packs of cigarettes in a Co-op store in London)
Co-op shops had been hit by a 44 per cent rise in shoplifting and a 35 per cent increase in violence and abuse against staff in the last year (pictured: CCTV footage of a shoplifter stealing deodorant cans)
Police chiefs have insisted a centralised unit established earlier this year is beginning to ‘turn the tide’ against prolific shoplifters (pictured: A thief stashing item in his coat in a foiled shoplifting attempt in Sherwood)
The supermarket chain boss believes this rise has not been driven by the cost-of living crisis but by people stealing ‘huge volumes’ of goods to order.
He revealed that Co-op shops had been hit by a 44 per cent rise in shoplifting and a 35 per cent increase in violence and abuse against staff in the last year.
Mr Gerrard told the Lords Home Affairs and Justice committee there were now 1000 incidents in their stores every day – the highest level of crime and abuse the company had ever seen.
He said: ‘What is driving a 44 per cent increase in people who are stealing to order huge volumes, people coming into our stores with wheelie bins, people coming into our store with builders bags to steal the entire confectionery section, the entire spirit section, the entire meat section.
‘If one of my colleagues gets in the way, there will be a violent threat. There might be a knife, there might be a syringe. I’ve had colleagues attacked with a medieval mace, we’ve had colleagues lose their eye, we’ve had colleagues miscarry.’
Staff have been removed from homes by the Co-op because they had been followed and threatened by the offenders, Mr Gerrard said.
Professor Emmeline Taylor, one of Britain’s leading authorities on shoplifting, told the committee that criminals saw the introduction of the £200 threshold for store theft as a ‘licence to steal’.
