A Sheffield lifestyle store has shared CCTV footage after being hit by another shoplifting incident, with over £150 of stock being taken.
It follows a number of smaller incidents at the Bare Alternative over the past few months, all of which have been reported to the police.
The independent business, located on Abbeydale Road, specialises in environmentally sustainable products such as refillable and reusable items.
The incident took place on Tuesday 17 February, where a male and female entered the shop and proceeded to take stock such as chocolate and healthcare items.
The theft comes at a particularly hard time for the local shop, with poor weather causing a drop in general sales.
Matthew Reynolds, 38, owner of The Bare Alternative said: “This whole ordeal has left my staff feeling very vulnerable and anxious”
“As a business owner, it’s been a very difficult situation to deal with.”
“We are just a small community facility trying to do our bit and help others reduce their impact on the environment. We don’t have the resources for full-time security staff. This may even make us seem like an easier target for shoplifters now, when even the Tesco Express near us find it necessary and is able to put this in place, so as the owner, this is now added to my plate on top of all the other responsibilities, which makes running an independent business challenging.”
The initial social media post has been shared amongst the local community, while the police investigation is ongoing.
Mr Reynolds added: “I am truly grateful for all the kind messages we received following the appeal on social media and the information which we’ve been sent. This has now been passed to the police, so we are at least hopeful they will be identified and banned from our shop, however, this doesn’t really solve the problem, as they will just find another target.”
Below is a video of the male suspect taking several chocolate bars and putting them in his coat.
Police have confirmed they are investigating the incident and urge anyone with information to contact them via 101 or online quoting the investigation number 14/37292/26.