Poundland staff spark debate after video captures their reaction to woman stealing

A video showing Poundland staff removing a shoplifter from a store has sparked a debate online.

The viral video, recorded at a store in Croydon, London, shows a woman being forcibly removed from the budget shop.

Watch here:

In the recording - which has been almost a million times on TikTok - staff can be seen removing items from the woman's bag as she protests and tries to wrestle her bag back.

She is then guided towards the door and pushed out, with one employee seen kicking the woman.

The distressed woman can then be heard continually shouting 'Call the police!' and 'I'm bleeding!'.

The footage has attracted thousands of comments on TikTok, with many thinking the Poundland employee overstepped the mark.

misszoho/TikTok

"He shouldn't have assaulted her now it's on him," one viewer wrote.

"Regardless of her being a thief, he should NOT have lost control and kicked her," another added. "Also, not classed as theft until she has walked out the store."

While a third wrote: "Poundland needs to see this! Do they think it is acceptable for their employees to assault someone like this?"

But others were more understanding of the action the employee took.

One person commented: "The harder the security is the more they'll maybe think twice."

"When you work in retail you'll understand the kick," another wrote.

And a third wrote, somewhat presumptuously: "To be fair it's probably not the first time."

Kevin Britland / Alamy Stock Photo

So, what do you make of the incident? Do you have sympathy with the employees, or do you think they handled the situation badly?

Well, there were plenty of people in the comments who felt that the staff member would definitely get the sack if Poundland saw it, with some even suspecting that he could face criminal charges.

It's too early to say what might come of this, but LADbible reached out to Poundland for comment on the viral video, and the chain's response might surprise you.

"We always give shoplifters the boot, but usually not literally," the spokesperson told us.

So there you go, it seems the employer is very much standing by the staff member in the fight against shoplifters.