'Industrial scale' of shop theft for online selling 'worrying', claims Bira as shopkeeper tracks down stolen goods on Vinted

Bira has warned of the growing "industrial scale" of shop theft to fuel online resale, following an incident where a Dorset shopkeeper traced stolen Jellycat toys being sold on Vinted.

Charlie Groves, who runs Groves Garden Centre in Bridport, Dorset, discovered the theft after reviewing CCTV footage showing a woman hiding toys in a pram and leaving without paying.

Groves used clues from the footage, including the thief’s personalised number plate, to locate her Facebook profile, as reported by the BBC. He later linked the stolen items to a Vinted account run by the woman’s husband, who denies knowledge of the theft.

Andrew Goodacre, CEO of Bira, said: “The industrial scale of this is worrying and is definitely fuelled by the availability and expediency and lack of control in online marketplaces.”

Bira’s recent retail crime survey found that over three-quarters (78%) of businesses that had experienced theft in the past 12 months reported that the frequency or severity of theft incidents had increased. Bira estimates that at least three-in-five items shoplifted from its members end up being sold online.