A dramatic surge in shoplifting across English pharmacies in the last year has seen shelves raided by brazen thieves and helpless staff aggressively abused, according to a new study.
A poll of 476 chemist's across the country by the National Pharmacy Association (NPA) found that a shocking 88 per cent of them had seen the unruly behaviour unfold in their store.
Some 87 per cent also reported an increase in aggressive or intimidating behaviour towards pharmacy teams, while nearly a quarter said they had witnessed physical assaults on staff.
Of those who reported such instances to police, 73 per cent said they felt the response was insufficient, leading some pharmacy owners to now draft in their own security to keep staff and products safe.
Sanjeev Panesar, who owns a chemist in Birmingham, has brought in guards and chased offenders out of his shop on numerous occasions.
