Two women were caught on CCTV allegedly stealing meat from a quaint farm shop before fleeing through the back door and leaving in a silver Honda CRV driven by an accomplice
Two women have nicked £300 worth of meat from a farm shop and brazenly swiped up to 25 sirloin steaks off the shelves in broad daylight.
The duo legged it through the back door of Setley Ridge Farm Shop in Brockenhurst, Hampshire, and are thought to have made their getaway in a silver Honda CRV driven by an accomplice.
Co-owner Gareth Kimbrey said: “They didn’t even have a bag with them – they were so blatant. They literally nicked 20-25 sirloin steaks and then scarpered out the back door – we have the back door open when we’re stocking the shop up.”
He added: “They had a driver in the car already going, they jumped in the car and it sped off.”
The two women are described as being in their mid to late 20s, and the incident occurred around 2pm last Tuesday. While the suspects remain unidentified, Mr Kimbrey believes the police are making headway following a meeting with officers on Saturday.
Setley Ridge Farm Shop is a small independent business which has been targeted by thieves before. In the last incident, a woman pinched six bottles of gin and was later nabbed and convicted.
Gareth, who co-owns the store with Sonia Wilcock, said: “Nobody was abused, but it does make you worry about it. It makes you feel vulnerable. We are insured but, of course, it’s going to put our insurance premiums up – it’s a high-value item.
“It hits out profits quite severely. It’s absolutely disgraceful. I’ve got no sympathy for them whatsoever. They think it’s a victimless crime, but that’s the money I use to pay my staff.”
Since the incident, the farm shop has introduced additional security measures to prevent further thefts amid fears shoplifting appears to be increasing in the local area
Gareth added: “We’ve already started changing things, so we are putting less products out on the shelves to lessen any risks, and we’ve changed the way we have access to the site, so it’s much harder to leave.
“We see quite a bit of it on social media, so I think generally, it’s on the increase.”
He thanked people who had been supportive after hearing about what had happened.
A police spokesman said: “We were called at 3.04pm on Tuesday April 7 with a report that two women had stolen approximately £300 worth of meat from Setley Ridge Farm Shop Enquires remain ongoing.”
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