We need help! We are Co-op staff out here alone trying to defend ourselves against Blackpool shoplifters

Staff at the Co-op branch in Layton Road are becoming the consistent target of shoplifters.

Stephen Cook, team leader, said brazen thieves are clearly stealing to order and are targeting high value items and going for multi items at once.

He said: “We had some try to steal a bag of laundry, shaving cream, and shavers worth about £60."

Supermarket staff managed to get the bag off the shoplifter at the door after they walked around filling up a bag for life.

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Mr Cook said the problem was police are not prioritising the issue and therefore thieves are not being deterred.

He said: "The police usually don't get involved, it's a massive issue.

“Early this year, we had a lady come in. She threw a glass coffee jar at one of my colleagues and tried to throw a trolley at him. She then jumped over the counter, grabbed a load of spirits, and then she put our window through, causing £500 worth of damage.

"We rang the police, and they said they would circle the area while she was running riot in the shop, and it took about five times to call the police before someone turned up."

The stress of the incident led to one of the staff members quitting their job.

Mr Cook said: “You sort of get immune to it. But the business is losing about thousands every week to shoplifting.”

The team at the Co-op feel shoplifters target their store because they know there will be ‘no consequences’.

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Mr Cook said: "Shoplifters think they can just come here, take what they want and leave, and there be no consequences.

“It is never people struggling with the cost of living, its always people trying to fund their habits, its always drug users, its people trying to make a quick buck, its never people just stealing a sandwich or essentials. The shoplifters we see always want copious amounts of laundry and coffee.”

Mr Cook said his team were aware other businesses in the area who are also severely impacted by shoplifting.

He said there was a significant difference in the level of shoplifting when there was regular patrols by a Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) in the area.

Mr Cook said: "When we get PCSOs and people patrolling the streets, you do feel a lot fewer incidents happen. The local contact we had hasn't come in in a while, possibly months. He used to come in once a day and patrol the area and you would feel the difference.

“What we need in Layton is similar to what the town centre has: a walkie-talkie system. If you go into a town centre, they have their own security team, and every shop has a walkie-talkie, and they can all report suspicious behaviour to other shop and so in the area. We don't have that, and we are out here trying to defend ourselves."

Lancashire Police have been approached for comment.