A similar number have also seen staff abused as shops say crime is spiralling out of control with 55,000 thefts a day

Nearly a quarter of Britons have witnessed shoplifting in the past year and seen physical or verbal abuse of shop workers as criminals become “bolder and more aggressive”.

A survey carried out for the British Retail Consortium (BRC) by the market research firm Opinium found Nottingham to be a UK hotspot for retail crime where 32% of residents said they had witnessed shoplifting. London was close behind on 29%.