Desperate Asda bosses forced to take drastic step to stop hard-up shoplifters nicking CONDOMS

SHOPS are slapping anti-theft stickers connected condoms aft frisky blokes kept swiping them from shelves – due to the fact that they’re excessively hard up to pay.

Dreaded yellowish alarm patches person been added to packs of the latex bonking essential, utilized by lovers to swerve unwanted pregnancies, astatine respective Asda branches crossed the country.

The alarms enactment by triggering a tiny sensor connected the underside of the sticker if an point is removed from the store without being scanned done a till.

One spot connected a 12-pack of Durex “thin feel” from Asda adjacent warns: “Security protected, region earlier microwaving”.

It comes arsenic the terms of a battalion of rubbers soared by astir 40 per cent successful the past year.

Meanwhile, shoplifting rates person besides soared to a grounds 1,300 incidents a day, meaning store shrinkage is besides astatine an all-time high.

One store idiosyncratic successful Lewisham, South East London, told The Sun: “These measures are present indispensable due to the fact that of however overmuch shoplifting is going on.

"Part of it is the prices person gone up by a lot.

“All commencement power has got acold much costly and that makes it much of a people for shoplifters.

“We person adjacent had immoderate radical unfastened packs up and conscionable instrumentality 1 oregon two, past enactment the container backmost arsenic if thing happened.

“Condoms are inactive a full batch cheaper than the alternative, whether that’s being fined for shoplifting oregon ending up with a baby.”

And Graham Wynn, of the British Retail Consortium, added: “Shoplifting poses a immense contented to businesses and communities crossed the country, and inadequate constabulary enactment has fixed criminals escaped rein to bargain goods.

“Our latest transgression survey showed losses to theft doubled successful the past twelvemonth to £1.8bn, and retailers had to walk a further £1.2bn connected anti-crime measures.

Not lone has the fig of thefts increased, but thieves are becoming bolder, much aggressive, and much often equipped with weapons.

“We telephone connected the constabulary to get pugnacious connected retail transgression and guarantee tackling this contented is simply a precocious precedence successful section policing plans.”

Last period a serial shoplifter’s crime spree was ended prematurely erstwhile helium was jailed for pinching £1,000 of rubbers.

Alistair Lees, 35, got 48 weeks successful prison for ransacking the contraceptive support of a Boots successful Bournemouth, Dorset, 7 abstracted times.

Asda was asked to comment.