Where we are in the league of shame for stealing from supermarket checkouts

Customers here steal an average £16 a month from self-service areas but how does that compare nationally?

The people of the North East have been praised for honesty - sort of - in a survey about stealing from supermarkets.

We’re near the bottom of a list of regions nicking from automatic check-outs.

But don’t be too hasty to congratulate yourselves - because we still swipe an average of £16 each every month.

That makes us 10th in a list of 12 regions in the UK.

And although it’s nothing to be proud of, it’s much better than most.

The North West was the worst with an average £33 disappearing from the tills.

The survey from VoucherCodesPro.co.uk revealed the average Brit steals £23 every month from self-service machines.

It all ads up to a massive £3.2 billion a year nationally.

George Charles, spokesperson for VoucherCodesPro.co.uk, said temptation is proving too much.

He said: “Self-service checkouts are amazing. It’s great to see how far technology has come and, if you don’t want to have to deal with an overly cheerful sales assistant, they are a blessing.

“However, the issue is that without workers patrolling the area, it would seem people cannot be trusted to behave themselves.

“The amount stolen annually has skyrocketed since 2014, from £1.3 billion to over £3.2 billion.

“The economy may not be in top shape currently and money may be tight, but that is no excuse to start stealing your weekly shop instead of paying for it.

“Stores may want to reconsider just how many store assistants they have manning their self-service stations.”

The survey claims almost a quarter of Brits who took part in the survey admitted to stealing.

The biggest excuse was the machine not working which accounted for 62% of theft.

Other excuses included “I knew I could get away with it” and “I forget to scan an item”.

Of those who said they have never stolen anything via self-service checkouts, the majority (62%) confessed that they only haven’t tried to take anything without paying because they’re worried about getting caught and the consequences that would follow.

Top targets are toiletries followed by fruit and vegetables, dairy items and confectionary.

Those who took part in the survey were equally spread through the 12 regions.

Here is the league table of shame:

Average monthly total of items stolen from a supermarket

1. North West – £33

2. South West - £31

3. Scotland – £29

4. Wales – £29

5. Northern Ireland – £27

6. London – £24

7. Yorkshire & The Humber – £22

8. South East – £18

9. East Midlands – £17

10. North East – £16

11. West Midlands – £15

12. East of England – £14