WATCH the moment a shoplifter is swarmed by a horde of security and staff alike at an Asda branch – but still manages to walk free.
The incident was captured by a bystander in the supermarket in Leyton, Greater London on Wednesday.
A swarm of staff swooped in after the thief was spotted, but the bloke resisted their attempts to apprehend him and managed to break free and seemingly leave with the stolen goods, despite being heavily outnumbered.
Video shows a group of security staff and Asda workers assembled around the shoplifter, cornering him at the “food to go” section.
Two appear to be searching the man’s pockets, coming away with several bottles of wine, one of which falls to the ground and smashes.
Unintelligible shouting can be heard, which gets louder when another worker seemingly threatens to hit him with a packing crate, holding it high above his head.
As the staff pack the bottles, he suddenly pushes his way out of the crowd to shouts of protest.
He rejoins his cronies and bursts through the security barriers to the sound of alarms going off.
More alarms sound as the group march through the exit and the staff bizarrely just watch on as the thief waltzes out of the exit.
The footage was shared to social media yesterday with the caption: “Shop thief in Asda yesterday, London.”
It has since received over 280 likes and more than 30 comments from social media users sharing their thoughts.
One said: “Great staff. It’s a shame your justice system rewards shoplifting.”
Another wrote: “Superb from everyone involved, a lot more of this needed, we can’t just let people take what they want when they want.”
A third disagreed: “Disgraceful, security should hold the thief until the police arrive to arrest him.”
Another commented: “The whole branch got on to him.”
A fifth said: “Bro really wanted the basket shot to the face.”
