St Leonards food store worker badly injured in violent attack by serial shoplifter

The guard suffered a broken rib and bruising in the incident at a Co-op store in St Leonards this week.

The man, who has not been named for his own protection, started working at the store last year. Since then he has experienced numerous assaults on both himself and other staff in his daily attempt to protect the store from thefts and uphold mask wearing rules.

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John Bownas, manager of the Hastings Business Crime Reduction Partnership, and Vice-Chair of Sussex Crimestoppers, said the attack emphasises “the very real need” for the national #ShopKind campaign – which is holding a day of action tomorrow (February 11).

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The campaign is backed by a consortium of major retail chains and crime prevention organisations, and was launched after research showed just how prevalent violent crime has become in the retail sector. Surveys show over a third of shoppers have witnessed aggression and violence towards retail workers.

John said: “Sadly, this is far from an isolated incident, and across the UK there will be several of these attacks happening every day. As well as imploring shoppers in general to have more respect for staff in their local stores I want to challenge magistrates to have a better understanding of the impact that violence has on employees and shoppers alike and give appropriate sentences to the small minority of serial offenders who tend to be responsible for much of this problem.”

He added: “I know that this particular guard has thick skin and will bounce back from his injuries. But I have listened to staff at other stores who have been in tears following far less serious incidents, and several have left long-standing jobs they love because they simply can’t take the increasing levels of abuse they are facing.”

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He said another recent incident at the same Co-op store provided an example of how light sentences are failing to deter shop crime. “A prolific and well-known Hastings shoplifter was brought before the courts in the last few weeks charged with theft, assault and criminal damage. However, despite her long history of offending she was only handed down a short, suspended sentence, and not issued any fines or compensation orders,” he added.

The Co-op guard, who is still recovering from his injuries, said he was “shocked” by the leniency of her sentence. “I was initially really pleased when I learnt the police were prosecuting this case as she and her partner have been responsible for thousands of pounds worth of theft from our shop over the past few months,” he added. “But I was frankly shocked when I saw how lightly the courts let her off. She’s been issued a restraining order that’s supposed to stop her coming back into the shop, but she just ignores it because I think the message she’s been given by the magistrates is that she won’t get punished, whatever she does.”