AN AWARD-WINNING shop owner has warned that he may be forced to close down his store if a spate of shoplifting continues.

Baz Jethwa — who runs the Costcutter in Campbell Street, Farnworth — has seen his store repeatedly targeted by thieves and it is now having a seriously adverse impact on his business.

On Monday, he injured himself while trying to tackle a shoplifter and says he has become frustrated with the police’s inability to help.

Mr Jethwa, whose other store in Plodder Lane was targeted by a knife-wielding robber in January, believes the recent spate of thefts in Campbell Street is the worst he has faced since taking over a decade ago. The 32-year-old said: “We have been targeted regularly by shoplifters. Sometimes it has been three times in the space of a week. The police used to come out and help us a lot more, but they say that they aren’t always able to come out now because of staff shortages. One of the shoplifters that I have reported in the past came in on Monday and I tried to detain him myself. He ran off, but I cut my finger trying to tackle him and needed to go to hospital for stitches.

“It has become very frustrating for us and we don’t know what to do. We are a local business that has invested a lot of money in Farnworth, so it is a real shame that this keeps happening. First and foremost, it poses a danger to our staff. But if we keep being targeted and losing money, it means we will have to cut hours or that people will lose their jobs. It might even mean we have to close the store.”

Last month, the store was nominated for two national prizes in the Retail Industry Awards, and, in 2015, Mr Jethwa won the medium-sized store category in the Independent Retailer of the Year Award at the Retail Industry Awards, the Best Bakery Retailer Award at the Asian Trader Awards and Costcutter’s internal Sales Growth of the Year Award.

He added: “I have been at this store for 10 years and the last two months is the worst spell of shoplifting we have had. The Campbell Street shop is targeted more than the Plodder Lane one, but we always get questioned as to what we are doing to prevent it ourselves. We are doing our best to have more staff in at busy times, but there is only so much we can do. We have caught thieves and banned them from the shop, but they keep coming back.”

Sgt Mike Sharples said: “Our response to reports of shoplifting isn’t based on the value of what was stolen. It is a case of judging how prolific it is and who is involved, and then balancing that with what resources we have available at that time. Our records show that the last two reported incidents at that shop have been attended by police.”