“It’s just wrong,” a veteran shoplifter said. “What chance have we got if they have everything nicked? I was in Debenham’s at ten o’clock this morning and there was nothing there.”

“I mean what’s the point? There’s not even a point in going shopping never mind shoplifting.”

A retail staff union representative said pilfering while working was an ancient right. “It may be on the rise because of the recession but we will not countenance any attempt to tackle it,” he said.