Shop workers 'spat at and assaulted'

Shop workers say they have been "assaulted, spat at and hospitalised" after confronting thieves.

Staff at separate stores on Boulevard Shopping precinct in Longbenton, North Tyneside, said they did not bother reporting incidents to the police as "nothing gets done".

The shop workers' union Usdaw has released figures which show 45% of its members have faced verbal abuse and 17% have been assaulted.

A spokesperson from Northumbria Police said: "To protect shop staff, we recently made some changes to strengthen our response to this type of offending."

The workers in Longbenton, who the BBC has agreed to keep anonymous, have spoken of the dangers of confronting shoplifters.

One said: "We get someone shoplifting daily, we confront them, but in the back of your head you wonder if they have a weapon."

She said she was told by the police they would not respond unless the goods stolen were worth more than £1,000.

Another worker said she had also confronted a shoplifter a few years ago.

"I stopped someone stealing, but I didn't realise they were in a group," she said.

"They kicked and punched me when I was on the ground, I spent three days in hospital."

A third shop worker said he had been "assaulted and spat at" by customers.

He added a colleague was bitten when attempting to remove a shoplifter from the premises.

Northumbria Police urged shop workers to always report shoplifting or assaults, and said its response was "determined by the threat, harm and risk posed by incidents and those with reasonable lines of inquiry".

The force said it was actively targeting prolific shoplifting offenders and working with retailers to reduce the volume of offending.

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