Thieves ransack a Boots store just round the corner from a police station while staff watch on - as shoplifting wave sweeps lawless London

This is the moment two shoplifters brazenly steal products from a Boots store just yards from a police station - as helpless staff watch on. 

One onlooker frantically called 999 as thieves targeted the shop which is around 200 yards from Chingford Police Station, east London, yesterday afternoon. 

The pair can be seen chucking products from the shelves into big black sports bags at the Boots store on Station Road, Chingford.

One thief, wearing light denim jeans, a blue jumper and a cream hat crouched down to load up his bag, using both hands to take as much as he could. 

The second, clad all in black with his hood up, stuffed goods into his holdall next to him, before he made his way across the aisle to take more products. 

It comes as the UK has seen a huge surge in shoplifting incidents with 365,164 cases recorded by police over the 12 months ending June 2023.

Shoplifting costs retailers an estimated £1billion per year with the number of thefts more than doubling in the past six years. 

A member of staff behind the counter looked bemused as they carried out the brazen raid in broad daylight. 

A woman can be heard reporting the shoplifting to police in the shocking 14 second video.

She said: 'Police, can you get to Station Road. There are people in here stealing all the stuff'

Although no violence was seen in the video, she then claimed: 'And they are hurting the staff. Quickly.'

Locals slammed the shoplifters, as reported on NeedToKnow.

One said: 'I live on that road, usually an okay safe place.'

Another added: 'Police station is two minutes away. For f**** sake.'

But Rob King joked: 'Just two doctors stocking up their surgery supplies. Nothing to see here.'

Adnan added: 'Well they are not hurting the staff. But yeah, the cost of living has gone up.'

He claimed: 'Boots' fault for over charging the people.'

The Met Police and Boots have been approached for comment.

The shocking video comes amid a surge in shoplifting incidents across the country with Tesco even putting security tags on shopping baskets to try and curb the trend. 

The supermarket giant started tagging the baskets at its store in the village of Theydon Bois, Essex, to deter thieves following a rise in thefts amid the cost-of-living crisis.

The move left one shopper baffled who said he could not believe it when he saw his shopping basket was secured with a grey tag.

James Beach, 45, said: 'I couldn't believe it when I saw they had stuck tags on shopping baskets - I mean, what are you going to do with one of them?

'Is there nothing these people won't nick?'

 He added: 'I spoke to one of the staff and she said they'd had loads of thefts so they were tagging the baskets now to try and deter people.'

It comes as another branch in Bristol started checking customers on CCTV before letting them into the store in a 'nightclub-style door policy'.

The branch in Southville has also moved their shopping baskets away from the doors to stop thieves piling them up with shopping and running out.

It leaves the automatic doors shut until customers are viewed on camera to see if they are suspected or well-known thieves.

Staff say the 'nightclub-style door policy' is in operation between 6am and 9am and in the late evenings when no security guards are on duty.

It comes after it was reported earlier in the month that convenience store thefts have soared to 5.6million from 1.1million in just one year.

Figures from the Association of Convenience Stores also revealed that there were 76,000 acts of violence in small shops last year, up from 41,000.

Shocking footage released earlier this month also showed a prolific shoplifter punch a Tesco worker in the face when she was confronted in a car park after stealing four bottles of vodka.

Joleen Maughan, 37, threatened staff with a needle when they followed her out of the store as she tried to make off with the £96 worth of alcohol.

CCTV footage shows her picking out the bottles of booze and putting them in her bag, before she sneakily covers the loot with a coat over her shoulder.

But on her way out of the Tesco extra store at Serpentine Green in Hampton, near Peterborough, staff became aware of the theft and pursued her.

The three staff members eventually closed in and surrounded Maughan but she refused to give up the goods.

When one member of staff attempts to grab the bottles out of her bag - Maughan twists and punches her straight in the face.

Police were called to the area and found Maughan nearby.

Maughan, of Dogsthorpe, appeared at Huntingdon Magistrates' Court on April 4, where she was sentenced to 12 weeks in prison.

In a separate incident another shoplifter was caught on camera brazenly taking 14 packets of meat from a Co-op store from which he was banned - before returning five days later to steal even more food.

Mark Moss can be seen taking six steaks from the store in Peterborough before going back for more a few seconds later - and then returns days later to steal another eight packs of meat.

The 36-year-old thief breached a Criminal Behaviour Order to steal the £100-worth of food from the Co-Op in the Peterborough village of Eye, over the two separate days. 

He grabbed the items then started to scarper before returning to take more just moments later.

Moss was verbally aggressive to a member of staff who confronted him before leaving the shop without paying.

And he was then spotted by cameras again five days later, cramming more packets of meat into his blue jacket before leaving.

Both times he also left the fridge doors open, although the second time it did go on to shut on its own.

The offences put Moss in breach of a two-year CBO he was given in January after being convicted of 16 shoplifting offences.