Food and drink have been moved behind anti-theft counters at a string of Greggs stores in a crackdown on out-of-control shoplifting.
Self-service displays have been axed, and shelves have been emptied in a major refit at the bakery chain in West Croydon, in South London, according to reports.
Staff are now serving food and drink to customers from behind theft-proof counters at the site to stop thieves from helping themselves to items from the shelves.
Outlets in Peckham, Whitechapel and Upton Park in the capital are said to be testing the same approach, along with sites in Birmingham and Wilford in Nottinghamshire.
It comes after shoplifting soared to a 20-year high in the year to March 2025, with retailers warning thefts were spiralling out of control.
Updated figures from the Office for National Statistics, released last week, suggest rates could be stabilising following a 1 per cent decrease in shoplifting year on year, with 509,566 offences recorded in the year ending December 2025.
Greggs said the anti-theft measures are being trialled at several shops, which have struggled with anti-social behaviour.
In a statement to The Sun, the company added: “This is one of a number of initiatives we are trialling across a very small number of shops which are exposed to higher levels of anti-social behaviour.
“Customers can expect to see our full range of great value and tasty Greggs favourites available from behind the counter.”
Last month, Adam Gosling, 39, was spared jail after admitting to stealing from a branch of the bakery chain in Greenford, west London, 38 times between 30 December 2025 and 10 February.
The value of the thefts ranged from £12.30 to £100 per visit and, on some days, he targeted the shop multiple times.
Prosecutors told Uxbridge Magistrates’ Court that Gosling’s six-week theft spree amounted to £1,817.50.
Footage released by the Metropolitan Police showed Gosling brazenly taking drinks from a shop fridge. In one clip, wearing a hood over a cap, he fills a carrier bag with multiple Lucozade bottles while a staff member is at a nearby fridge.
Chairwoman of the magistrates’ bench Judy Gregg sentenced Gosling, who the court heard was homeless, to four months in prison, suspended for one year.
In response to the latest ONS figures, crime and policing minister Sarah Jone admitted rates of shop theft remain “unacceptably high”.
“But these figures show that our swift, decisive action is turning the tide: shoplifting is down on last year,” she added.
“We’re scrapping the so-called £200 ‘licence to steal’. The number of shoplifters facing justice continues to soar under this government, with 17 per cent more charges in just a year.”
