Penarth workers frustrated dealing with shoplifting daily

Postmaster Sajaad Yasin said: “It has been worse since covid. We have had incidents of theft every day.  

“Since covid, everyone has got sticky fingers. They will try and take things more now with the cost of living.

The postmaster in front of the post office (Image: Newsquest)  

“It’s usually things they can sell on, we have had to stop selling batteries because of it. I confronted someone just yesterday.

“Police are awful in this area; it takes half an hour to fifty minutes to report an incident and people haven’t got the time."

The manager of a supermarket in Penarth, who asked not to be named said: "It is rife, it is horrible. It happens three to five times a day.  

“They work in a team with one creating a distraction while the other takes things like washing detergent.  

“We are not allowed to stop them for our safety, we can only really go up and ask if they need any help and be present in the isles.” 

The team leader at the Co-op (Image: Newsquest) Neil Brace, team leader at the Co-op on Windsor Road, said: “Our policy is we are not allowed to stop or go after them. It feels frustrating.

"They are taking hours from our shop, which makes us work harder. We are trying our very hardest, but there is only so much we can do and we have no presence of police on the streets."

Inspector Gareth Childs, from South Wales Police, said: “We have received no reports of shoplifting from this particular Post Office in the last two months and we are sorry to hear what the Postmaster in Penarth has been experiencing.

“Officers will be visiting the Post Office on Glebe Street as a priority to offer support. For a crime in progress, and in emergency, it is vital that police are contacted via 999.

"Like everyone else, shop workers and businesses should be able to go about their work without fear of crime. Penarth town centre is safe place, with dedicated officers, and we would urge anyone with concerns to please contact us.”