Gary MacArthur, who worked as a shop assistant at a Sainsbury’s in West Wickham, south-east London, for 15 years, was fired in March after an altercation with a bottle-throwing shoplifter in December 2025.
Despite the store’s security guard having collapsed earlier, Gary was dismissed for gross misconduct for failing to follow Sainsbury’s guidance on “prevent\[ing] incidents”. The supermarket had previously given him a written warning and extra training on this policy.
His dismissal letter, seen by LBC, stated that even though the shoplifter threw glass bottles at his colleagues, Gary should have acted only as a “visual deterrent”.
“The job was my life, really,” Gary said tearfully. “I don’t have much. The friends that I do have are generally my work colleagues… Apart from that… I’ve got five fish tanks and two snakes, and that’s pretty much me.”
The incident happened over an hour after his shift was meant to end. After the store’s security guard suffered a suspected stroke, Gary agreed to stay late to help the all-female team feel safer.
“My security guard started at 1pm and he didn’t seem right,” Gary recalled. “Around 2:30, he had a stroke on the shop floor. Me and another colleague were the first at his scene, did a bit of CPR and called the ambulance.”
“I finish at 9pm, \[and] as I go to take my headpiece off, I’ve got all the girls screaming in my ear going ‘come down, we’ve got an aggressive Champagne thief.’”
The shoplifter was a repeat offender known locally for stealing high-end bottles of Moët, Bollinger, and Veuve Clicquot.
Aware of the thief’s aggressive reputation, Gary confronted the man and escorted him from the store. He found a bag of stolen bottles, which he brought inside.
By the time Gary returned, the shoplifter was back in the store smashing bottles, throwing two towards his manager and a colleague. As the thief grabbed four more bottles, a customer blocked his path with a trolley. Gary and the customer then restrained the man until the police arrived.
Three months later, Gary was dismissed for gross misconduct. His appeal in early April was unsuccessful. The company decided his actions had escalated the situation.
This wasn’t the first time. In August 2025, Gary received a written warning after challenging a thief. He insists he “can’t let it go” when he sees someone breaking the law, and once lost teeth after being punched while stopping a theft.
“It’s not even thieving these days – it’s pure looting,” Gary said. “People see it and they don’t do anything… There is no civic duty.”
Gary’s case is one of several where shopworkers have been fired for confronting thieves. Last month, Sean Egan was sacked by Morrisons after nearly 30 years for tackling a repeat offender.
Usdaw, the retail workers’ union, told LBC it doesn’t comment on individual cases but urged supermarket bosses to use discretion when employees breach policies while confronting shoplifters.
General secretary Joanne Thomas said, “We know how difficult and frightening it can be for staff… we recognise that being told to stand back can be frustrating… We would not expect management to rush to a dismissal if there has been a breach of policy… Usdaw would seek for our members to be given additional support, mentoring and training.”
Shoplifting in the UK has hit record highs, with over 500,000 cases annually. In a recent speech, the prime minister said the “tide could be turning,” citing a 17% increase in criminal charges. Major retailers are now using facial recognition technology to help police identify offenders.
Although Gary has found a new job, he says he has lost out financially and emotionally.
“I got to know people on a heartfelt and family-like basis… There was a real sense of love and loyalty for me and the colleagues and customers.”
“I know my confidence will be hurt by this, but give me time – my love for work will never change.”
A Sainsbury’s spokesperson said: “We are seeing incidents of violence, aggression and theft happening in our stores on a daily basis… We are responding by investing in extra security measures… not asking our colleagues to put their safety on the line by tackling offenders. That’s why our guidance to colleagues on responding to retail crime prioritises keeping everyone in our stores safe and is specifically designed to prevent incidents from escalating.”
Source – LBC
