Charity shop under siege
A charity has been forced to lock its entrance doors and use its exit instead because of shoplifters.
Customers going to Cannock-based BDF Newlife are now directed to the doors at the front of the building. They are nearest the tills and were previously used as the exit, to go in and out.
A sign has been taped on to the automatic door at the side of the building telling shoppers it is out of service.
Sheila Brown OBE, chief executive of BDF Newlife, said: "It's a sad state of affairs that any charity is a target for shoplifting.
"We have had a spate of incidents and feel we have had to restrict the way people enter the store until we can find a way to protect it."
The sign on the side doors of the building off Hemlock Way asks shoppers to use the front entrance to go in and out.
It reads: "We sincerely regret that due to an enormous increase in shoplifting we have had to close off these doors until a cost-effective way can be found to economically reduce losses to the charity's income."
It added: "We regret that we are forced into this action but we know our honest and law-abiding customers will have every sympathy with our plight."
Councillor Keith Bennett, district councillor for Hawks Green, said: "It's disgusting. You don't expect people to do things like this."
In August last year Mrs Brown revealed the charity, which raises money for children with birth defects, had fallen victim to thieves who swapped price tags, altered prices and shoplifted.
She said it had been an ongoing problem for several years and signs were posted in the changing rooms warning tough action was planned and anyone caught would be prosecuted.
The charity takes stock from big-name retailers and removes labels before re-selling items at low prices.
