- Do YOU have a story? Email freya.barnes@dailymail.co.uk
A veteran Waitrose worker of 17 years was sacked after tackling a shoplifter who was trying to steal luxury Easter eggs.
Shop assistant Walker Smith, 54, was approached by a customer in a Waitrose store in Clapham Junction, south London, who told him someone had filled a shopping bag with Easter eggs.
Mr Smith recognised the shoplifter as a repeat offender and ‘grabbed the bag’ from him.
The thief snatched the bag back and a tug-of-war ensued between the pair before the bag ripped and Lindt Gold Bunny eggs, which retail for £13 each, fell to the floor with one smashing to pieces.
With his plan foiled, the shoplifter sprinted out of the shop whilst Mr Smith picked up a piece of broken chocolate and ‘threw it out of frustration’ in the direction of some shopping trolleys, but did not aim it at the thief.
He was scolded by his manager and had to apologise, but his superior still decided to escalate the matter higher – leaving Mr Smith to go home ‘punching’ himself and questioning why he stopped the thief.
A few days later, Mr Smith was pulled into a meeting with two store managers.
Having a feeling about what was about to happen, he pleaded with his bosses and told them Waitrose is like his ‘family’.
Shop assistant Walker Smith, 54, was approached by a customer in a Waitrose store in Clapham Junction, south London , who told him someone had filled a shopping bag with Easter eggs
The thief had stuffed a Waitrose bag full of Lindt Gold Bunny Easter eggs which retail for £13 each
But they still decided to fire their staff member of 17 years over the incident.
Mr Smith previously admitted staff had been told previously not to approach shoplifters but said he was spurred into action after watching thieves get away with stealing from the shop every hour of the day for the last five years.
He said it is ‘everyone from drug addicts to teenagers’ swiping items, including alcohol, but staff are ‘not allowed to do anything’.
Due to security being cut in the store, with no guards working on Mondays and Tuesdays, Mr Smith and his colleagues were left without any help.
He had recently moved into a studio flat on his own after only being able to afford to live in a flat share with other people for 25 years, now he worries he could become homeless and his confidence is ‘on the floor’.
‘I’m not a bad or violent or aggressive person,’ he told The Guardian, ‘I just got frustrated seeing this day in and day out and not seeing Waitrose do much about it.’
A Waitrose spokesperson said: ‘The safety and security of our Partners and customers couldn’t be more important to us, and we have policies in place to protect both.
‘We’ve had incidents where our Partners have been hospitalised when challenging shoplifters. Luckily, they have always recovered, but that might not always be the case.
‘There is a serious danger to life in tackling shoplifters. We refuse to put anyone’s life at risk and that’s why we have policies in place that are very clearly understood and must be strictly followed.
‘As a responsible employer, we never want to be in a position where we are notifying families of a tragedy because someone tried to stop a theft. Nothing we sell is worth risking lives for.
‘The reporting on this does not cover the full facts of the situation. While we would never be able to discuss an individual case, we can assure you the correct process is being followed, which includes a standard appeals procedure.
‘We have campaigned for some time for more to be done to protect shop workers from offenders, including retail crime being made into a specific stand alone offence.’
