Moment have-a-go-heroes foil brazen supermarket shoplifting raid at Tesco
- Footage apparently shows shoplifters being tackled to the ground by public
Dramatic footage has captured the moment a gang of thieves were tackled after allegedly loading their cars with stolen goods.
The men are seen throwing items in a shopping trolley into a car in a Tescos car park in Waltham Abbey, Essex.
In the video, three men, who were allegedly shoplifting, quickly jump into their black Volkswagen Polo as another group run towards the vehicle.
As they try to drive away, the men who surrounded the car manage to open the door and try to drag the alleged thieves out.
A security guard can also be seen attempting to open the boot and shocked witnesses are heard saying ‘call the police’.
The video shows the alleged shoplifters loading a black VW Golf with goods seemingly shoplifted from the store
Police arrived on the scene later and arrested two of the men, aged 17 and 27, on suspicion of theft
Luckily, a group of have-a-go heroes seemed to intervene and stop the daylight robbery
Then a struggle ensues as the apparent shoplifters are forced to the ground and restrained by the have-a-go heroes.
One of the alleged thieves tries to headbutt one of the men and ends up falling on the ground.
Police arrived on the scene later and arrested two of the men, aged 17 and 27, on suspicion of theft.
The alleged thieves were dragged from the car to stop them from driving away with the loot
People can be heard shouting ‘stop resisiting’ as they try to restrain the thieves on the ground
They have been released on conditional bail and have been banned from the Tesco store.
Detective Chief Inspector Alan Blakesley, of our West Local Policing Area, said: ‘We’re acutely aware of the impact theft has on our businesses and we work extremely hard, first and foremost, to respond to incidents when they happen and make arrests and, secondly, to ensure businesses are supported by our dedicated business crime team when they feel they would benefit from that independent advice.
‘In this case, officers from our community policing team arrived quickly to make arrests and we thank all members of the public who reported the incident to us.’