THIS is the shocking moment a Tesco worker hurled baskets and storage boxes at a pair of crooks – after apparently ordering them to leave the store.
The cause of the incident is unknown, but shoppers were left shaking after the terrifying standoff took place.
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The incident seemingly began in a tame manner, with a security guard telling two men to exit the Tesco store.
He can be heard on the video saying: “Take your stuff and go.”
Next, one of the men ejected from the store fired back with “f*** you” prompting the security guard to make a chilling threat.
The security guard can be heard saying: “You come next time and I’ll f*** your a** up, okay? Call the police.”
Then, the two men volleyed an unidentified object at the Tesco store – prompting the security guard to fire back with an empty storage tray.
Tensions reached a boiling point when the men threw yet another storage tray, causing a uniformed worker to hurl a metal basket at them.
Finally, the two men toppled a metal shelf which was standing outside the store before hurling another object into the shop.
Throughout the video, one terrified shopper can be seen lingering at the edges of the store in order to avoid being caught in the crossfire.
The cause of the in-store skirmish is not yet known, but Tesco have said they are investigating.
A spokesperson for the supermarket said: “We’re investigating what happened here as the conduct does not meet the high standards we set ourselves, and we apologise for this.”
The video was taken by an unknown man who can simply be heard saying: “I’m recording.”
Redditors expressed their horror at the incident through the website’s comment section with one simply saying: “Oh yeah those lads are getting sacked.”
Others took a more humorous approach, with another redditor quipping: “Yeah, I normally help carry the shoplifters stuff to their car. Every little helps.”
However, one commenter – who is in the top 1% of commenters – gave his opinion of what could happen to the workers involved.
WaferSensitive4508 said: “Training pretty much says you are to get yourself out the situation, if you are in a fight and you push someone to stop it, it could be seen as reasonable, but if you throw a punch that could be seen as excessive and then lead to a misconduct.
“It’s all about how it’s perceived.
“If witnesses / camera sees you doing something that you didn’t need to do then your doing too much = your likely going out the door..
“It sucks I know, but it’s always going to rule against the person who’s being attacked.”
Stores across the country have been battered by crime over recent years, with stores like Greggs becoming easy pickings for thieves.
The leader of one London-based gang was found to be in possession of at least £150,000 worth of stolen goods from supermarkets, after the Met cracked down on organised shoplifting.
The crackdown also targeted NR Food and Wine in Mitcham and the nearby Capital Food and Wine.
Police logged a staggering 516,971 shoplifting incidents last year – up from from 429,873 in 2023.
Only a fifth of these incidents ended in a conviction though, as overstretched forces have struggled to keep up with the rate of thefts.
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