Store owner releases CCTV of shoplifters 'costing him £20,000 per year' as he blames police for 'failing to investigate'
A shopkeeper has released CCTV footage of shoplifters ransacking shelves which he says costs him £20,000 a year while the police 'fail to investigate'.Mohammed Bilal, 39, says his business is being devastated by thieves and his staff have been endangered as he loses faith in police protection.In a last-ditch effort to save his shop, he has taken to social media to air his troubles and shared footage of the rampant stealing he sees daily.One CCTV clip shows a woman stuffing multiple bottles of wine in her handbag, while another shows a woman attempting to steal a bottle before smashing it on the ground.Mr Bilal runs the Londis in Bathgate in West Lothian, Scotland, and said bandits have resorted to vandalism - smashing his shop doors and windows several times.He said: 'It happens almost every other day - they just enter and grab things and run away.'Sometimes when you try and stop them, they break things - they've tried to damage the shelves and damage the door. That costs us extra money.'They are stealing food, drinks, alcohol - whatever they can get. Mohammed Bilal said his Londis shop in Bathgate in West Lothian, Scotland, is ransacked daily by thieves and costs him £20,000 a year while police do nothing despite reports Mr Bilal said bandits have taken to vandalising the shop, smashing doors and windows and breaking shelves during the raids costing him and his family yet more money'A whole shelf got emptied by one guy who put everything into the bag and ran away.'Mr Bilal said he had reported the criminals to the police many times but is losing faith as nothing comes of it.The business loses between £50 to £100 a day from loss of stock and damage in the shop, he claimed.The shopkeeper added: 'We reported to the police, and at the end of the day, we never got anything back from them.'Sometimes you ask what's the point to waste the time and chase the stuff.'We never recover anything.'He said he appreciated there was a struggle for many during the cost-of-living crisis, but their actions have meant he and his family's lives are being ruined by the thefts.'I don't know why it's happening more - it could be that things are getting expensive,' he said.'We try to keep good prices. It's a challenging time for us as a retailer. Worried for his employees' safety, Mr Bilal has taken to social media and started publishing CCTV footage of shoplifters to try to identify them in lieu of police help 'A whole shelf got emptied by one guy who put everything into the bag and ran away,' Mr Bilal said 'Sometimes you ask what's the point to waste the time and chase the stuff. We never recover anything,' Mr Bilal said Mr Bilal has said he does not want to put extra stock on shelves for fears it will be swiped'The loss of money - we don't want to put extra stock on a shelf in case someone comes in to shoplift.'In hopes of identifying repeat offenders in the community, Mr Bilal has started to share CCTV footage of shoplifters online.He hopes that the response from those on social media and local authorities might help curb the attacks on his shop as he fears for the safety of his employees.'I share the pictures because they might be kids and their guardian or someone they know can actually stop them,' said Mr Bilal.'It's dangerous to take things from the people doing the shoplifting - they can hurt the staff members and that's a safety concern.'Their safety is very important.'Police Scotland has been contacted for comment.
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