A ‘wave of theft and violence’ is sweeping through shops, say UK retailers, as bosses from some of the biggest names on the high street demand more help from police.

In a signed letter to home secretary Suella Braverman - 86 companies including Asda, Sainsbury’s, M&S, Boots, Morrisons and John Lewis are now demanding forces in England do more to prioritise offences and improve their response to incidents.

Shop workers, says the British Retail Consortium, are experiencing violence and abuse on a daily basis amid a rise in retail crime.

The BRC estimates attacks on colleagues have doubled in the last four years – with more than 800 incidents now being witnessed each day.

While the cost of retail crime in the 12 months to April is valued at more than £1.76bn as stores- which are already losing millions to theft – are forced to plough millions more into crime prevention.

Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium which represents the nation’s firms, explained: “It is vital that action is taken before the scourge of retail crime gets any worse.

“We are seeing organised gangs threatening staff with weapons and emptying stores. We are seeing violence against colleagues who are doing their job and asking for age-verification. We are seeing a torrent of abuse aimed at hardworking shop staff.

“It’s simply unacceptable – no one should have to go to work fearing for their safety.”

Aldi, Primark and Tesco are among the retailers to have recently adopted body cameras for some workers as part of efforts to step-up their own surveillance. Tesco is also reportedly introducing hundreds of protective screens in smaller stores to protect staff from assaults by shoplifters.

In their collective letter to the home secretary, the heads of some of the nation’s biggest shops and supermarkets also ask for the creation of a standalone offence of ‘assaulting or abusing a retail worker’ that would come with tougher punishments for offenders.

This, they say, would mean police forces would be required to record all incidents – allowing for a better allocation of their resources – while also acting as a deterrent.

Their letter explains: “The police consistently tell us that a lack of data about these offences means they have no visibility about the nature or scale of the issue.

“While retailers are working to improve reporting of incidents, and we have developed strong and effective partnerships with police in many parts of the country, a standalone offence would vastly improve that visibility so that the police can allocate appropriate resources and improve their response.”

Helen Dickinson, Chief Executive of the British Retail Consortium, said ministers now need to act.

She added: “It’s time the government put their words into action.

“We need government to stand with the millions of retail workers who kept us safe and fed during the pandemic – and support them, as those workers supported us.”