CCTV footage has captured the moment “blatant” shoplifters carefully picked out several items of children’s clothes before stuffing them into a rucksack.
More than £100 worth of pieces were stolen from Spoilt for Choice in Sheerness High Street.
The store, which opened in March last year, aims to combat the decline of the high street and provides independent and local companies – who might not be able to afford to rent a shop on their own – with a physical space to sell their products.
More than 20 businesses have signed up and sell a range of handmade items, including clothing, jewellery, mugs, resin art and upcycled furniture.
The team charges each person a fixed price per shelf, which is paid in advance.
Paula Desai has an upcycling business and co-owns the shop with Rita McDonald, who owns children’s clothing company Lavish Patch, and Robyn Gibbs, who runs Nocturnal Nymph, which sells Japanese manga comics and Pokémon merchandise.
On Monday, August 5, the store was targeted by shoplifters.
Paula says the two women were “so blatant.”
“They were literally picking the sizes of the dresses that they wanted,” she explained. “They were very specific about it.
“It wasn’t just them coming in and taking a handful of stuff. They chose exactly what ages they wanted.
“One turned around while the other one unzipped her bag and stuffed it in. They took well over £100 – god knows what it would have been retail price.”
Around six dresses and three boys’ outfits, which would fit a newborn up to three months, were taken from the Lavish Patch section.
At the till, Paula received a call from Rita to say that her phone kept pinging as the CCTV was picking up movement in the area where the clothes are on display.
She then decided to confront the pair as the two women went to leave.
Paula recalled: “I stopped them as they were leaving the shop and said ‘have you got anything that you haven’t paid for?’
“One of them denied it, shook her top and held her bag open. It was completely empty.”
She says in that split moment as they were heading out the door, and with a busy shop, she didn’t question them further.
She added: “I then realised they had put everything in her friend’s rucksack.
“It’s just really frustrating. It was all planned and they knew exactly what they were doing.
“They knew that I couldn’t do anything other than check.”
Rita then posted an appeal for help on her Facebook page, which said: “Sometimes I wonder why I bother.
“Having a small business is tough, but I love it until people feel they can help themselves, not to one outfit but a whole backpack full. Clearly, seeing the cameras didn’t bother them.”
After seeing the store’s social media posts, police officers paid a visit the following day and prompted them to report the crime and upload the footage as evidence.
However, this isn’t the first time the store has been targeted.
Paula said: “Interestingly, it’s not been kids – it’s all adults. We try to make sure that everybody has stock lists and that they keep on top of their inventories so that they know if anything is missing.
“There could be ones that we don’t know about.”
Despite the odd shoplifter, Paula says the feedback they have had from customers has been great.
She said: “The community loves it. We have lots of regulars and people are so friendly.
“They love the shop and they’re still making really positive comments, which makes it worthwhile.
“We hear people all the time, even going past, saying that it’s their favourite shop. It’s nice to hear.”
A police spokesman confirmed they received an online crime report on August 6 about a previous incident of shoplifting in Sheerness.
He added: “It is alleged that at around 1.40pm on August 5, two women stole several items of children’s clothing from a shop in the High Street.
“It is reported that the stolen items were concealed in a rucksack. An investigation is ongoing.”
