A Greggs store in London has padlocked its drinks cabinet apparently in a bid to beat the army of shoplifters targeting the high street food chain.
Staff have been on high alert with thieves circling the stores, famed for their sausage rolls, and grabbing items while they are serving other customers.
The brazen criminals are often out of the shop and out of sight before they can react.
Footage shared on X shows a padlock and chain securing the chilled cabinet at a branch.
The scourge of shoplifters led to the company’s flagship store in Leicester Square hiring a security guard last year.
Meanwhile workers at Greggs in London Bridge were issued with body worn cameras as part of a trial to beef up security.
A witness to two incidents in west London in the space of a week highlighted the problem of opportunist thieves plundering shelves.
They said: ‘It was a Greggs in Ealing Broadway. Two teenagers walked in and while staff were busy with other customers they shoved sandwiches in their pockets and strolled out.
‘When outside they jogged for a bit but then realised no one was into them so just stopped… easy as that.’
They added: ‘The second incident was in Brentford. A guy waited for the staff to be busy then after pretending to browse walked out with a meal desk, bold as brass.
To get the latest news from the capital visit Metro's London news hub.
‘No wonder they are now using extra security. These places are packed with people it’s easy pickings by the looks of it.’
Other chains have been targeted by shoplifters and robbers. Tills have been plundered by thieves at a string of Tesco stores across the capital while mobile phone shops, most reverently in Brent Cross and Kilburn in north London have been hit.
Supermarkets have also started locking up expensive items like steak and alcohol as levels of shoplifting rocket.
Greggs has been contacted for comment.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.
