Tom Ironside News Today

The abandoned trolleys are to be seen strewn all across the borough by anti-social shoppers and are both an eyesore and and a hazard on paths and on…

When Tom Hardy spotted a suspected thief running from the scene of a crashed moped near his home in Richmond, south-west London, he reacted as only a Hollywood action man could. Hardy chased him through a back garden, hauled him into a bus stop and performed a citizen’s arrest. “This little s--- nicked something and now he’s got himself a broken leg,” he is reported to have told one awed onlooker in the April 2017 incident.

Former Co-op chief Richard Pennycook, who is co-chairman of the council, said towns across the country risked becoming wastelands because of the demise of high streets.

Photos taken by MailOnline have revealed how Oxford Street has suffered and is now home to empty shells of ornate stonework that used to house some of the UKs most famous brands.

The bosses of Harrods and Selfridges joined Tory backbenchers in warning that Chancellor Jeremy Hunts decision to scrap VAT-free shopping would put the UK at a serious disadvantage.

A Tesco store in Liverpool which is losing £50,000 a month to thieves will be the first to direct shoplifters to food banks instead of police arresting them amid high inflation.

Cardboard cutouts of bottles of whiskey (pictured) are being used on the shelves of a Tesco store in Burnley after shoplifters kept pinching them.

Thefts have soared since the beginning of the year and are continuing to increase in the wake of price rises caused by the war in Ukraine which have left many consumers struggling.

Police officers were told use think carefully about prosecuting shoplifters stealing to eat amid the cost of living crisis. Policing watchdog Andy Cooke risked the wrath of retailers with the advice

The Levelling Up White Paper sets out a range of initiatives for reviving the high street’s flagging fortunes. But are they enough?