Owner of market stalls in Black Country town breaks hand stopping 'scummy shoplifters' from stealing items

Sean Russel, from Oldbury, owns six stalls at Blackheath Market in Rowley Regis and told the Express & Star that thieves stealing items from his stalls is a “daily occurrence”.

He said that two men attempted to steal items from one of his stalls on Saturday (16 May) but the goods were recovered, and the men then returned on Monday morning (18 May).

Mr Russel said that the “scummy shoplifters” grabbed Fairy washing pods and made off, but they had already been clocked by another manager in the market and so he was able to run after them.

Mr Russel said he managed to catch one of the men but suffered a broken hand and three fractures in his thumb in his efforts to try and stop the pair of shoplifters.

He told the Express & Star: “For us it’s a daily occurrence.

“Compared to supermarkets, who unfortunately, their policies are let them take what they want... for me I am the boss and my message is that they are not taking what is mine.

He added: “I’m p****d off. It’s a daily thing anyway. Times must be hard for them and they tried their luck”.

The incident comes after Wolverhampton resident Sean Egan, who had worked at the Morrisons store in Aldridge for 29 years, was sacked for tackling a shoplifter.

Mr Egan, aged 46, spent nearly three decades working at the store in Aldridge, near Walsall, before being dismissed for tackling a shoplifter in December last year.

The Wolverhampton resident intervened when a repeat shoplifter turned abusive. This ultimately cost him his position as it went against Morrisons strict ‘deter-not-detain’ policy for all frontline staff and management.

This corporate rule dictates that employees must only attempt to discourage shoplifters verbally or through visible presence and are strictly forbidden from physically intervening, chasing, or holding a suspected thief.

A protest was held outside the Aldridge Morrisons store in April in support of Mr Egan.

According to the BBC, Morrisons boss Rami Baitieh said he understood the reaction but "the public reporting of the incident does not reflect the full facts of the situation".