I’m a middle class mum who’s stolen £1,000s from supermarkets… I don’t need the money & it’s the shops’ fault I do it

SCANNING the supermarket shelves for a perfectly ripe bunch of bananas, Emma* looks like any other mum doing the food shop. But hidden amongst her fully-packed trolley is a secret stash of goods she has absolutely no intention of paying for. As the 40-year-old scans most of her shopping through the self checkout, she carefully leaves a select few items worth £4.50 in her trolley bags.

She then grins broadly at the security guard as she pushes the trolley out of the supermarket, before adding her stolen goods to a growing haul back home. Regularly shoplifting once a week, Emma isn’t a desperate mum on the breadline struggling to feed her kids.

With a successful career as a private nurse and her husband having a well-paid job in IT, it's not about the money. Emma is doing it for the huge adrenaline rush. Feeling elated, she then loads the shopping into her car and drives back to her four-bedroom, detached home, secretly thrilled she’s got away without paying for all of her shopping.

Emma is one of an increasing number of middle-class shoplifters stealing items along with her weekly shop, and it's said to be costing supermarkets billions. M&S chairman Archie Norman previously said the rise was a "social phenomenon that has become a global problem", as recorded instances of shoplifting rose 22 per cent last year.

Emma, who lives in a leafy commuter belt village in Kent with her husband and two daughters, now seven and eight, says: "I'm ashamed to admit it, but I've become addicted to the thrill of shoplifting from supermarkets. "I only steal small items, the odd thing here and there but I was horrified to realise that stealing a few pounds worth of items every week means I’ve stolen more than £2,000 over the years.

"I think of myself as a very honest and respectable person and in every other aspect of my life, I’m the ultimate goody two-shoes. I've never had a parking fine, or even returned a library book late. “As a child, I wouldn’t have dared to even help myself to an extra sweet from the Woolworths pick ’n’ mix.

"But now I just can't help myself from taking something during every solo weekly shop without paying for it. "I think it's a fairly victimless crime, stealing from the big supermarkets - it's not as though I'm taking these things from an independent farm shop.".

It all started when Emma's oldest daughter, now eight, was a newborn. She says: "Sleep-deprived, I nipped into our local supermarket alone for some essentials, and when I got to the car, I realised I'd forgotten to pay for an extra large pack of nappies that I'd popped under the pram.

"My instinct was to go back and pay for them, as they were probably worth about £20 - but there were no security guards coming after me, so I just drove off with them. "I never expected to get such a thrill out of it - like I'd won a tenner on the lottery.

“I never told a soul though - I'm sure my husband would be horrified if I told him I'd not gone back to pay. He's such an honest person. "I didn't intend to do it again, but for some reason, I was amazed when I never experienced any guilt.". The next time she went shopping, Emma found herself slipping tins of dog food under the pram.

She says: "When I went through the till, I tried to convince myself I'd forgotten it again, knowing if anyone stopped me I could just feign horror at forgetting to ring it through the till. "Now, I pop something in my basket for free nearly every time I shop.

"It's not usually anything big or expensive; a greetings card here, a bunch of grapes there. I think a lot of middle-class mums do the same, because it's a little way of rebelling against authority. "It adds up to such a high sum over the years, which makes me feel awful.

“I think a lot of middle-class mums do the same, because it's a little way of rebelling against authority. “We've followed the rules our entire lives, and this is a bit of a secret buzz, but I also know that sometimes I’m just making excuses for myself.

"I can afford to feed my family, but we don't have the spare money for a holiday, or a meal out anymore, so this habit affords some minor treats. "I suppose saving a couple of pounds here or there by shoplifting makes me feel like I'm getting one over on the big companies that are hiking prices up.

"I know that ultimately, people like me are part of the reason prices are going up, but everything is so expensive these days, any money you can claw back feels like a win. "Although I don't speak about it with my friends, I have a feeling I won't be the only one doing it.

"I read news stories all the time about the amount of money the big shops are losing to shoplifters, and every time I see one I'm hit with a pang of guilt.”. RETAIL expert Clare Bailey, who appears on ITV’s Good Morning Britain and Sky News, says: “Shoplifting is not a victimless crime. Everyone is a victim.".