A mother-of-two who saw a shoplifter stealing from a supermarket has told of the horrific moment she was dragged under the wheel of a car as she tried to stop the offender escaping.
Hayley Bush had gone into her local Co-op store in Paulton, Somerset, for milk when a staff member alerted her to a woman picking up packets of steak and expensive branded items from the shelves.
Moments later, she heard the worker say “no, stop”, then saw the woman rush out of the supermarket without paying for a basketful of items.
“I ran out after her and shouted ‘if you are struggling, I will pay for your shoplifting’, said the 36-year-old. “She said ‘I’ve got to get to my partner’ and went to get in a parked car outside as I grabbed the basket.
“I heard her tell a man behind the wheel to ‘drive’ and the next thing I know he’s reversed and dragged me on to the floor with my leg wedged under the front wheel.”
After shouting at the driver to stop, he moved the vehicle forward and drove out of the car park with the shoplifter in the passenger seat.
Mrs Bush said: “I got up, walked around in shock, I think, then I broke down in tears. I couldn’t believe what had happened and I felt lucky to have come away with only bruising up my leg.”
Last year saw a near-decade record number of convictions and sentencings for shoplifting in England and Wales, with almost 50,000 cases brought before courts, and the average custodial sentence given, 2.4 months.
The crime is costing retailers £2.2bn a year, according to the British Retail Consortium, with many now taking measures into their own hands. Bakery chain Greggs has removed display cabinets in some stores and Co-op is marking targeted items with forensic spray.
Some shop owners are also “naming and shaming” offenders caught on CCTV.
Last month, Andy Burnham said police forces must “take a strong line against shoplifting”.
Mrs Bush, who runs The Hub cafe near to the Co-op that was targeted, said: “It’s a nightmare everywhere. People are getting desperate. The store worker said he believed the same woman I saw had hit four other shops nearby. It’s not a one-off, people are running it for a living.”
On the incident, which happened on 3 September, Avon and Somerset Police have released images of two people they would like to speak to in connection with their investigation.
A spokesperson said: “An unknown woman walked out of Coop, in Hill Court, Paulton, with a basket of food items she hadn’t paid for between 11am and 12pm on Thursday 3 September A member of the public, a woman in her thirties, attempted to intervene and was involved in a collision with a black Vauxhall Combo van the offender was driven off in by an unknown male.
“She suffered minor injuries and did not require hospital treatment.”
The first person police want to speak to is described as a white woman, with long black hair, who was wearing a green dress and a grey fleece. The second person is a white man, with short, cropped hair, who was wearing blue jeans and a grey hooded jumper.
