Waitrose worker sacked after 17 years for confronting Lindt Easter egg shoplifter in Clapham store

A long-serving Waitrose employee says he has been left devastated after losing his job of 17 years for intervening when a suspected shoplifter filled a bag with luxury Easter eggs.

Walker Smith, 54, was working at the supermarket ’s Clapham Junction branch in south London when a shopper alerted him to the alleged theft.

“They told me someone had filled up a Waitrose bag with the eggs,” he said.

Smith said the suspect was known to staff and had targeted the store before.

He confronted the individual and “grabbed the bag”, but the person pulled it back, leading to a brief struggle.

The bag split during the scuffle, sending Lindt Gold Bunny Easter eggs, worth £13 each, crashing to the floor.

The shoplifter then fled the store.

Smith said one of the chocolate bunnies shattered.

In a moment of frustration, he picked up a piece and “threw it out of frustration” towards some shopping trolleys, not aiming it at the shoplifter, he told The Guardian.

He was reprimanded by a manager and apologised, but the situation was escalated and ultimately led to his dismissal.

Smith said he had previously been instructed not to challenge shoplifters, but years of witnessing repeated theft pushed him to act.

“I’ve been there 17 years.

I’ve seen it happen every hour of every day for the last five years,” he said.

“It’s everybody from drug addicts to teenagers nicking bits and bobs or walking out with bottles of wine in their arms.

We’re not allowed to do anything.”
He also claimed security provision had been reduced, with no guards on duty at the start of the week.

“Shoplifting incidents aren’t reported enough,” he said, adding that this left ordinary staff dealing with the issue.

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Despite defending his frustration, Smith said he regretted how he handled the situation.

Days later, he was called into a meeting with two managers and feared the worst.

“I had a feeling about what was going to happen,” he said.

He made a final appeal, telling them “Waitrose is like my family”, but was dismissed regardless.

“I tried to stay strong and I didn’t say a word but inside I was crying.

They led me out the back door by the bins.

I just felt demoralised,” he said.

Smith, who has been diagnosed with anxiety, said his managers were aware of his condition.

Having recently moved into his own studio flat after years of house-sharing, he now fears for his future.

“Waitrose is like my family.

My friends are there.

I was there for 17 years, I must have been doing something right.

I’m not a bad or violent or aggressive person.

I just got frustrated seeing this day in and day out and not seeing Waitrose do much about it.”
The case comes amid a wider surge in shoplifting across the UK.

Official figures show there were 519,381 shoplifting offences recorded in England and Wales in the year to September 2025, a 5 per cent rise on the 492,660 logged the previous year, according to the Office for National Statistics.

That total is just below the record 530,643 offences recorded in the 12 months to March 2025.

Retail union Usdaw warned in February that workers are facing “unacceptable” levels of abuse, with “evidence showing that two-thirds of attacks on retail staff are being triggered by theft or armed robbery”.

Pressure has also been mounting on ministers to act.

On Friday, Marks & Spencer chief executive Stuart Machin urged the government and London’s mayor to take tougher action, warning shoplifting has become “more brazen, more organised and more aggressive”.

A Waitrose spokesperson said: “We take the safety and security of our customers and our partners incredibly seriously and to do this we have policies in place which our partners are aware of and required to follow.

“In reference to the point on guarding – we make absolutely sure that our shops have appropriate levels of guarding and this is constantly adjusted according to the level of risk.”