A brazen thief has been videoed stealing nine drinks from a high street Greggs as shocked staff and customers helplessly watched on.
The shameful incident occurred at the bakery chain’s Norwood Junction branch in South London on Monday, November 11.
In the footage captured by an onlooker in store, the shoplifter can be seen pinching two bottles of Lucozade sport, five Coca-Colas plus two other beverages.
The thief, who was wearing a jumper with the hood pulled up and a Covid-19 styled mask could be witnessed making a hand gesture towards the person videoing as they finished raiding the fridge.
On their way out of the shop, the thief even had time to salute the stunned bystander.
Unable to stop the man, staff watched on in disbelief from behind the till as the thief made off with his Waitrose bag full of stolen beverages.
The incident is the latest in a spate of shoplifting episodes targeting Greggs, with three separate instances of theft filmed back in September at one of the bakery’s stores in North London over the course of just 20 minutes.
The brazen thief was videoed stealing nine beverages from the Greggs at Norwood Junction in south London
The thief’s shoplifting escapades went unchallenged by shocked staff
The shoplifter, disguised by a hoodie and mask, was seen saluting the bystander videoing him as he left the store
The incident is the latest in a spate of shoplifting episodes to hit Greggs
The seemingly increased frequency with which high street chains such as Greggs are enduring shoplifting is indicative of the latest figures which highlight Briton’s attitudes towards the crime.
A YouGov survey released last week found that over half of the British public view it as acceptable to steal food if a person is starving.
A further 40 per cent of respondents perceived shoplifting food items to be okay should they be unaffordable, with 44 per cent believing that the theft of baby products in the same circumstances was acceptable.
However, the survey did find a colossal generational divide in these opinions, with 80 per cent of 18-24 year-olds viewing it as acceptable for the shoplifting of food in the event a person is starving.
Meanwhile, just a third of pensioners perceived it as acceptable, with just a quarter of over 65’s viewing the theft of baby products okay.
Attitudes towards police’s handling of the shoplifting epidemic were less divided though, with three quarters of all respondents feeling that authorities could be doing more to tackle the issue.
Official statistics also highlight the ever-worsening shoplifting rates, with police recording 469,788 shoplifting incidents in the year to June, a steep 29 per cent rise on the previous year and equating to over 1,200 offences per day.
Retailers like Greggs have stated that this shoplifting surge is seeing an additional 6p added to every transaction, with less than half of cases ultimately being resolved.
The actual magnitude of the issue is thought to be considerably higher though, with many offences going unrecorded or unreported.