This is the dramatic moment an Asda supermarket worker confronted a shoplifter but was then sacked after 25 years’ loyal service for trying to prevent him from getting away.
Gavin Ramsay, 49, worked as a porter collecting trolleys and shopping baskets at the Asda supermarket in South Shields when he saw a group of rowdy young people emerge from the store with bottles of alcohol they had stolen.
He was dismissed for gross misconduct two weeks after the incident for not adhering to the retailer’s policy that staff should not physically challenge shoplifters.
His case comes in the week details emerged of the sacking of Sean Egan, 46 a supermarket manager at Morrisons in Aldridge, West Midlands, for challenging a serial shoplifter who stole two bottle of Jack Daniel’s worth £50.
Mr Egan, a married father, told how his life had been destroyed following 29 years of service with the company.
In the latest video, Mr Ramsay can be seen walking with some trolleys he had just collected when he sees one of the youths pull out a bottle of Absolut Vodka from his trousers which still had a security tag on it.
Pushing the trolleys away, the Asda worker instinctively grips the youngster from behind as he attempts to take the bottle from him, leading to a tussle.
Seconds later the young shoplifter can be seen crashing to the floor as Mr Ramsay pulls away having secured the bottle.
Gavin Ramsay, 49, worked as a porter collecting trolleys and shopping baskets at the Asda supermarket in South Shields when he saw a group of rowdy young people (pictured) emerge from the store with bottles of alcohol they had stolen
He was dismissed for gross misconduct two weeks after the incident (pictured) for not adhering to the retailer’s policy that staff should not physically challenge shoplifters
Mr Ramsay (pictured) told the Daily Mail: ‘I wasn’t trying to be violent, I just reacted in a way that any decent human would’
As he steps back, two other youths confront him with one of them pulling out another stolen bottle of alcohol from his pocket which he menacingly threatens Mr Ramsay with by waving it in his face.
Other video footage then shows the youths follow Mr Ramsay into the store where they confront him and violently push him onto a moving walkway.
Mr Ramsay told the Daily Mail: ‘I wasn’t trying to be violent, I just reacted in a way that any decent human would. I’ve put up with shoplifters for quite a long time now, seeing them get away with it and being on the end of their abuse.
‘When I saw these kids and how cocky they were about stealing bottles of alcohol something just kicked in. I thought to myself: ‘I’ve had enough and I’m not letting you get away with it.’ It was just me trying to do the right thing, that’s all.’
Mr Ramsay conceded that the video could be interpreted as him being aggressive, but he insisted: ‘I didn’t want to hurt this kid, I just wanted to get the bottle he had stolen off him. He ended up with a cut lip and fell on the floor but really, he was the criminal, not me but I’ve ended up paying a high price for this.’
Mr Ramsay revealed that he earned £1,000 per month for doing a ‘thankless job’ but that his quarter of a century of service to Asda was not taken into account following an eight-hour disciplinary hearing.
He has a long-term partner but no children and lives at home with his elderly parents in South Shields. He is currently out of work for the first time in his life, is surviving on benefits of £90 per week and has been diagnosed with depression and anxiety.
Mr Ramsay said: ‘My job was not the sexiest in the world. For all those years I collected trolleys and shopping baskets and tried to do it in the best way that I could. I’m a proud man and have always worked, no matter what the job is. But now I’m not even able to pay any rent to my parents.
‘When it came to it, Asda just discarded me like a piece of rubbish. I devoted my life to the company doing a job that many people would not do but none of that seemed to matter.’
Mr Ramsay added: ‘I know that there is a policy of not engaging physically with shoplifters. But they didn’t need to sack me, they could have given me a written warning, given my years of service of doing a very mundane job.’
The incident that led to his dismissal took place in August 2025. A year before that, Mr Ramsay was beaten up by an irate customer at the Asda petrol station adjoining the store which led to him sustaining a black eye, broken nose and tooth.
He said: ‘I literally put my life on the line for this company, but they didn’t take any of that into consideration during my disciplinary hearing.
‘Over the years, I’ve seen attitudes towards supermarket workers change. There’s no respect anymore, kids are feral, and customers think they can talk to you as if you are a piece of rubbish.’
On the UK’s shoplifting epidemic, he said: ‘Things are out of control. Shoplifters have been given a green light to come into stores and just help themselves to stuff because they know that nobody is going to challenge them.
‘I’ve seen it going on for quite a while now and I’d just had enough. I snapped, I wanted to take a stand.’
Should shop workers ever step in to stop thieves – or is it too dangerous in today’s climate?
The former porter (pictured) is now out of work for the first time in his life, is surviving on benefits of £90 per week and has been diagnosed with depression and anxiety
‘When it came to it, Asda just discarded me like a piece of rubbish. I devoted my life to the company doing a job that many people would not do but none of that seemed to matter,’ Mr Ramsay said. Pictured: File photo
Reflecting on his time at Asda, Mr Ramsay revealed that when he first started at the South Shields store staff were encouraged to detain shoplifters and call the police.
He said: ‘I once chased a shoplifter through the carpark and sat on him until the police arrived. The management actually thanked me for it.
‘But now the management sack you if you even go near them. And there’s no point in calling the police because they can’t be bothered to turn up. I don’t understand how things have come to this?’
An Asda spokesperson: ‘The footage shown does not show the whole incident. We have clear policies in place to prevent and de‑escalate incidents in our stores. The former colleague – as he acknowledges – had received previous warning for aggressive behaviour. On this occasion, the police had already been called and yet he continued to use excessive force and show aggression outside the store towards bystanders who were not involved in the incident. It is that that led to the decision to dismiss.’
