Pick and Mix Shop Owner Relocates Due to Ongoing Thefts

The owner of a pick and mix shop in East Sussex has said she moved premises because staff felt "very unsafe" due to ongoing thefts. Alison Nicholls, who owns the Rainbows Sweet Shop in Hastings, said "even kids" were stealing after seeing videos of people 'taking whatever they want" from shops.

Nicholls said her "old school" pick and mix shop – which has been open for some 20 years – was doing "really well". However, she added that it "would not take an awful lot" to harm the store as profit margins were low. Nicholls said people would still come to the new location for a "bit of five-finger discount", though staff were much happier there.

The government has announced it will target around 500 of the country's worst retail crime offenders in a new programme. Under the measures, prolific offenders could be banned from high streets and town centres or fitted with GPS tags to track their movements. Other measures could include closer monitoring of perpetrators through intensive supervision courts, which would subject them to more regular hearings in front of a judge.

Katy Bourne, Police and Crime Commissioner for Sussex, said people often associated the problem with big stores and cities, but it also affected smaller town high streets. Bourne said a pilot scheme by Sussex Police, which sees persistent shoplifters tagged and banned from certain areas, had reduced reoffending by 60%.