A Waitrose employee of 17 years has described his devastation after being sacked for stopping a shoplifter who had ransacked a show of Lindt Gold Bunny Easter eggs.
Walker Smith, a store assistant at a department of Waitrose in Clapham Junction, south London, was going about his regular duties when a buyer stopped him. “They told me someone had filled up a Waitrose bag with the eggs,” he mentioned.
The 54-year-old mentioned the shoplifter was a repeat offender. After recognizing the thief, he “grabbed the bag” from the shoplifter, who snatched it again and, he mentioned, there was a wrestle for a couple of seconds earlier than it snapped. The Lindt Gold Bunny Easter eggs, which retail for £13 every, fell to the ground and the shoplifter made a touch for the exit. Smith mentioned one of many bunnies broke into items. He picked a chunk of the damaged bunny and “threw it out of frustration” in the direction of some buying trolleys, not aiming it on the shoplifter, he mentioned.
He was instructed off by his supervisor and apologised however the matter was escalated. Smith mentioned he was beforehand instructed to not method shoplifters however the toll of seeing them get away with theft repeatedly spurred him into motion. “I’ve been there 17 years. I’ve seen it happen every hour of every day for the last five years,” he mentioned.
“It’s everybody from drug addicts to teenagers nicking bits and bobs or walking out with bottles of wine in their arms. We’re not allowed to do anything.”
He mentioned safety had been scaled again within the store, with no guards engaged on Mondays and Tuesday as a result of “shoplifting incidents aren’t reported enough”. This left non-security employees, together with Smith, on the frontline of the issue.
Despite this, Walker mentioned he regretted how he acted. “When I got home I was punching myself and thinking ‘Why did I do that’,” he mentioned.
After a couple of days, Walker was hauled into a gathering with two retailer managers. “I had a feeling about what was going to happen,” he mentioned. He made a remaining plea, telling his bosses “Waitrose is like my family” however he was nonetheless dismissed.
“I tried to stay strong and I didn’t say a word but inside I was crying. They led me out the back door by the bins. I just felt demoralised,” he mentioned. Walker is identified with nervousness, which he mentioned his managers had been conscious of.
He had not too long ago moved into his personal studio flat after dwelling with flatmates for 25 years, earlier than being sacked. He worries about how he’ll preserve a roof over his head. “I’m not too sure what’s going to happen with this place now. I might be homeless. My confidence is on the floor right now,” he mentioned.
“Waitrose is like my family. My friends are there. I was there for 17 years, I must have been doing something right. I’m not a bad or violent or aggressive person. I just got frustrated seeing this day in and day out and not seeing Waitrose do much about it.”
Retail companies, notably supermarkets, have seen a rise in shoplifting. In England and Wales, there have been 519,381 shoplifting offences within the yr to September 2025, up 5% from 492,660 the earlier yr, in keeping with knowledge from the Office for National Statistics.
These numbers are narrowly under the document ranges seen within the 12 months to March 2025, when a complete of 530,643 offences had been recorded.
In February, retail commerce union Usdaw said employees face “unacceptable” ranges of violence and abuse, with “evidence showing that two-thirds of attacks on retail staff are being triggered by theft or armed robbery”.
On Friday, the chief government of Marks & Spencer, Stuart Machin, known as on the federal government and London’s mayor to crack down on retail crime, saying it has turn out to be “more brazen, more organised and more aggressive”.
A Waitrose spokesperson mentioned: “We take the safety and security of our customers and our partners incredibly seriously and to do this we have policies in place which our partners are aware of and required to follow.
“In reference to the point on guarding – we make absolutely sure that our shops have appropriate levels of guarding and this is constantly adjusted according to the level of risk.”
