Criminals ‘systematically’ targeting UK shops, costing £400m last year, say retailers

British Retail Consortium warns over endemic' violence towards shop workers and says theft is causing anxiety

Criminal gangs are systematically" targeting shops, retailers have warned, with 5.5m incidents of shoplifting detected last year, costing the industry an estimated 400m.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) has warned over endemic" violence towards shop workers - who faced an average 36 incidents of violence involving a weapon every day last year - and said high levels of theft was causing anxiety" among retail staff.