A WOMAN who confronted a shoplifter is calling for action to be taken ‘before it’s too late’.

Lynn Wellborn had finished her shopping at the Co-op in East Anton Farm Road last month when a potential thief caught her eye.

The former security guard carried out a visual weapons check on him before returning inside.

She said: “I could tell he didn’t have a weapon on him but the way he was standing. I saw him take a Co-op bag out of his pocket and start throwing meat into it. I shouted out ‘you’ve got a shoplifter’, and when I said that he was looking towards me and I said to him ‘I think you should go and put that back’.”

According to Lynn the shoplifter then shouted at her, ordering her to “get out my way”.

“As he said that I said, ‘no I will not’, he pushed by, we collided, and I grabbed his bag which swung me around and we were scuffling.”

The 57-year-old said that the shoplifter then darted out the shop and she followed him to see which direction he was headed.

“He turned around to me and said ‘haha you didn’t get me’ and ran into the estate,” she added.

The days following, Lynn approached the store manager in a bid to urge them to employ a security guard, but she claims that the company will not hire for the position as it “eats into their profits”.

“I fear that someone is going to get seriously hurt if not maimed as some of the shoplifters do carry knifes. They [Co-op] are not going to get a security guard, the staff just have to deal with it themselves.”

Lynn claims that it is not the first time that the store has been targeted by shoplifters and believes it will not be the last.

“They are getting them in there all the time, it is a matter of time before someone gets hurt,” she added.

“I decided that you have got to make a stand to make a difference.”

A Co-op spokesman said: “Although we appreciate the bravery of this customer, we would urge anyone who witnesses a theft not to deal with it directly and to report it to the store manager or the police. It is a sad fact that incidents such as these occur across the country and affect the whole retail sector but we are not complacent.

“In order to safeguard our security arrangements, we do not comment on them in any detail. However, we would like to reassure residents that we have been making ongoing and significant investments in this area.

“As a locally-owned co-operative, we are working towards combatting the causes of such incidents including giving thorough consideration to a number of measures that offer the most effective solutions. As part of this, we have been working closely with local police forces, other retail businesses, organisations and local communities.

“We are grateful for the work of Hampshire police which has led to a number of successful prosecutions against incidents of theft across the county.”